Love Again
by evilregal108
Summary: Regina is on the road to redemption. Can she find love along the way? Set right after "The Doctor" One minor change to the back story is that Regina and David/Charming ended up sleeping together in "The Stranger". The rating is for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

James dropped Henry off at Granny's quickly telling him he would be back for him later before racing back off to the stables. He needed to be sure she was ok. He knew the brunette could certainly take care of herself but the problem was he wasn't sure if she would. His mind flashed to the last moment he had seen her. Her face had been a mix of fear and hope. James could see that she believed she could save her true love and that she may finally get her happy ending. Unfortunately he didn't think this meeting was going to go quite like she thought it would and he worried that she may not do what was needed to protect herself.

Regina Mills was not an easy woman to figure out.

In the last several weeks she had been doing her best to change, to redeem herself for her son and it surprised him but James found himself hoping that she could succeed. No matter what Henry said about it he knew the boy missed his mother. How could he not? No matter who she was or what she had done she was still his mom and it was pretty obvious that she loved him completely. Something he never would have expected from The Evil Queen. He found himself secretly rooting for Regina to be able to turn things around…for Henry.

They still had their problems of course. She had cursed an entire kingdom and tried to kill his wife on more then one occasion which could not be easily forgotten. He had to admit that she had seemed to grow softer over the last few weeks and there was vulnerability he had never seen in her before and passion he admitted to himself. His mind flashed to the one night he had spent with her, before the curse had been broken. He had helped her when her car had broken down and she had repaid him with dinner. After eating and drinking a bit to much wine they had ended up in her bed.

James grew slightly uncomfortable as he thought about that night. The memory of her glorious body beneath him, the way her hands had rushed over him in a heated frenzy. He had been disappointed the next morning when she told him that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to continue the affair. Things in his life were just to complicated and she did have a son to think about. He had agreed because, well, an affair at that point wasn't the best idea with all the Kathryn/ Mary Margret business, but it hadn't stopped him from being a little upset he wouldn't get to spend more time in the Mayor's bed.

His wife knew nothing of this one night stand and he supposed he would have to tell her at some point. That was a conversation he was not looking forward to.

His mind drifted back to Regina. She had always been a striking woman even in the Enchanted Forest when she was The Evil Queen. He remembered her coming to see him in his cell to gloat about her plans to defeat her enemy. He had been so angry and so worried about Snow, but despite all of that when she walked into his cell he hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her. Even hating her as much as he did she was unbelievably intoxicating. When she reached out and ran her hand down his arm his blood had instantly heated and he jerked way as if he had been burned. The Queen had given him a knowing smirk as he let his eyes linger over her again and it infuriated him that she seemed to know what he was thinking. He felt instantly guilty about the way his heart quickened but tried to console himself. He was just a man after all and the Queens outfits did display her "assets" quite nicely.

James scolded himself as he pulled up to the stables. Here Regina was in a life threatening situation and he was thinking about her breasts. "Real heroic Charming" He muttered to himself as he climbed out of his truck.

As he neared the stable doors he heard it. Her sobbing was loud and bordered on hysterical. He rushed in to find her crumpled into a corner and the sound of desperation coming from her was almost to much for him to take as he rushed to her side.

"Regina?" he asked gently but received no answer.

He needed to be sure she hadn't been physically hurt so he took her gently by the arm and pulled her chin up with his other hand so she would look at him. "Are you ok?"

The only answer he received was another sob but when her head was lifted he saw the dark bruises on her neck. His heart lurched painfully in his chest for her.

"Regina, where is Daniel?"

She sobbed again and simply said "Gone."

She lowered her head and again began to cry even harder then she had been before. He sat there on his knees helplessly wishing there was something he could do for her.

He sat back against the stable and let his arm fall lightly around her shoulders, it was the only thing he knew to do to comfort her and he was surprised when she leaned into him. He tightened his hold on her and she turned her face into his neck as she continued to cry.

"I had to kill him James." she said it quietly. "He was in pain and I had to kill the only man I have ever loved"

"It wasn't him Regina."

She sobbed again and this time James brought up his other arm and plucked her up to sit almost on his lap. Her head turned into his chest as she began to cry again. The sounds of desperation coming from her tore at his heart. All he could do was hold her close to him. It was the only comfort he could offer.

He wasn't sure how long they sat like that but was relieved when her sobs started to die down. She still had her face turned into his chest but she had finally started to calm. He gently stroked her hair in a gesture of comfort. She had become completely quiet.

"Why don't you let me take you home?" He asked gently.

She finally looked up at him with tear stained cheeks and nodded her agreement.

He helped her up and kept his hand on her back as they walked to his truck. He opened the door for her and she turned to him before getting in.

"Thank you" she said looking him in the eyes and he knew she wasn't talking about his opening the door for her, but instead for the comfort he had offered her.

"You're welcome' he said as he wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

She turned and climbed into the truck.

The drive back to the her mansion was quiet. He snuck a peek at Regina to find her head leaned back against the seat and her eyes closed. He thought how vulnerable and soft she looked without her normal defenses in place. She was still beautiful even with her tear stained face.

He stopped in front of her house but she didn't move. He said her name quietly but still no answer. She had fallen asleep. He started to reach over to wake her but thought better of it. It seemed almost cruel of him to wake her from this peacefulness only to bring her back into the pain she would have to face when awake. He considered carrying her into her house but the thought of her waking up with nothing but her grief in the morning didn't seem right either. His mind made up for him he started his truck again and drove toward the apartment he had called home since the curse had been broken.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He was attempting to fit his key in the lock while holding the sleeping brunette in his arms when the door swung open in front of him. Henry had been waiting for him and a look of horror came over the boys face when he saw James carrying his mom.

"What happened?" He said in a panic.

"Shhh, it's ok Henry she's just asleep" James walked in with Regina and took her to the bed that Henry normally occupied. He had expected Henry to still be at Granny's but apparently he and Red had decided to wait for him here.

Henry ran to his mom to see for himself that she was ok and his eyes filled with tears at what he saw. He turned to James "She has bruises on her neck." His breath hitched a little.

James walked to the boy and pulled him into a hug. "She's ok Henry, she just needs to rest now." Henry pulled back not quite as convinced and turned back to his mom. "I'm going to sit with her for a while" he said it almost defiantly.

"Ok" James said simply. "I'm sure when she wakes up it will be your face she'll want to see." He smiled at Henry.

Henry smiled back a little before walking to the bed and laying down beside his mom.

James smiled again at the sight, He turned to head towards the kitchen and nearly ran smack into Red. She was standing with her hands on her hips and she was not looking very pleased with him at the moment.

"Would you care explaining to me why you have brought that woman into my best friends home after everything she had done?" James thought if looks could kill he would most definitely be a dead man.

"I would be happy to explain it you Red, but I need a drink first." He tried his most charming smile but the girls face didn't change. He tried making small talk as they headed into the kitchen but she just continued to stare at him waiting for his explanation.

He had to hand it to her she was a loyal friend to his wife.

He offered her a drink which she declined and after pouring one for himself he lead her to the table where he explained everything, at least everything he knew about the situation. About how Regina had lost her true love years ago but Whale had brought him back. How he was no longer the man she loved but a monster and then told how Regina had been forced to kill him.

Red's eyes softened dramatically as he told the story. If anyone could understand what it was like to kill the person you love most it was her after all.

"I couldn't just leave her alone Red. I know she's done a lot of terrible things but she really has been trying and the look on her face when I found her….I just thought maybe she might want to wake up near her son tomorrow." He told her truthfully.

Red gave him a small grin and muttered something about him being to charming for his own damn good, but got up to leave. He thanked her for keeping Henry for him and walked her out.

He leaned heavily against the door after closing it behind her. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more then a shower and a bed but he wanted to check on Henry first. He walked to the boys bedroom and what he saw made his heart melt. Regina was in the same position she had been in when he laid her down but Henry had curled up next to her and had his arm draped protectively over his mother's stomach. He was fast asleep. The two of them looked so peaceful in that moment. James walked to the bed and removed Regina's boots, then pulled the blanket from the bottom of the bed to cover both of them. He stood for another moment watching them both sleep before turning the lights off and walking from the room.

He hoped Regina would find some comfort and happiness in the morning when she woke with her son's arms around her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed!**

Regina awoke to the weight of a small arm wrapped around her body. She opened her eyes and was confused to find she wasn't in her bed and when she shifted to see the owner of the arm draped across her she was surprised to find her son curled up next to her. Her heart melted at the sight of him and she found herself wanting to hold on to him and never let go.

How did she get here?

The last thing she remembered was climbing into James' truck. The memories of the night before came crashing down around her and she felt as if her heart was breaking all over again. She had killed Daniel.

Her eyes began to tear again and she blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying more. She didn't want Henry to see her upset. She looked back down to her beautiful little boy and her heart swelled with love for him. She shifted and after some maneuvering she was able to put her arms around him. He grunted a little at the movement, but settled back down and laid his head on her chest. It had been so long since he had let her hold him and it felt so good to have him in her arms again.

She had always wanted children. Her and Daniel had planned for a houseful. She had dreamed of a happy home full of love and laughter. It would be different then how she had grown up. She would show her kids everyday how much she loved them and she would always let them know she was proud of them.

She never wanted her children to feel desperate for her approval the way she had always felt with her mother.

She stroked her sons hair as she asked herself if she had been the kind of mother she had wanted to be to him.

If she was honest with herself the answer was no. She was always pushing him to do better, be better. Had she ever just told him how proud she was that he was her son? Did she tell him often enough that she loved him more then anything in this world? How often did she just sit down and laugh with him? She had wanted a houseful of fun and laughter for her kids, but had she given that to Henry?

Had she become her mother?

Of course they had their fun times, Christmases and birthdays. The board games they would play together and their weekly movie nights, but when was the last time she had done something spontaneous with him or just talked to him about his life and listen to him tell her about the things that were important to him.

She felt a small pang of regret. She wanted to change all of that and hoped that he would let her. She wanted him to have the mom she had always wanted to be to him and not the closed off woman that she had become. She had reasoned that she should never let people see the person she really was on the inside because no one ever loved that person. Except Daniel.

She pushed the thought of him out of her mind. She wanted to enjoy this moment with her little boy.

She felt her heart drop a little as the boy started to stir. She wasn't ready to let go of him. Instead of pulling away like she thought he would he just shifted his head to look up at her.

She smiled down at him. "Good morning sweetheart" she said it brightly.

"Hi Mom" his voice was still rough from sleep.

He rubbed his eyes to clear them and that was when he once again saw the bruising on her neck. The sight still scared him. He didn't like to thing about how close he may have come to loosing his mother.

He thought maybe he should get up. Wasn't he a little old to be held by his mommy? The need to be a grown up and the need to feel his mom's arms around him had a small war going on inside him. In the end he decided to stay where he was….for her. She had a rough night and probably needed to hold him for a while. The fact that the sound of her heart had such a calming affect on him and that her arms felt so good around him were just side benefits.

Regina watched him while he seemed to be deep in thought and wondered what he was thinking about. She smiled a little as he snuggled closer and she pulled her arms tighter around him. Regina was thrilled he didn't want to get up right away. They laid in silence for a while before Henry finally spoke again.

"Mom"

"Hmm"

"Who was that man last night?" He asked as he looked back up at her.

She looked down at him a little sadly and told him, "His name was Daniel."

"How did you know him?" He asked.

Regina began to stroke his hair and smiled sadly when she said "He was my true love. He died several years ago, but was brought back by a form of magic used by Dr Whale."

Henry's eyes widened a bit. The Evil Queen had a true love? His book had never said anything about that.

Henry's eyes narrowed and he brought his hand up to gently touch her neck. "If he was your true love then why did he do this?"

Regina sighed, she should have known her inquisitive son would want an explanation for last night. "When he was brought back he wasn't himself anymore but had been turned into a monster. He was in a lot of pain and didn't recognize me at first."

"Did he ever realize who you were?"

A tear rolled down her cheek. "He did, for a moment. There was one moment I thought he might come back to me, but he was in so much pain, he begged me to end it." She started to rub Henry's back. "There is something else I have to tell you Henry…I….I used magic last night. Daniel needed my help and it was the only way I knew to help him. I'm sorry."

Henry lightly shook his head while continuing to rest his chin on her chest. "It's ok. At least you used it to help him." He turned to lay his head back down to where she could no longer see his face.

They continued to lay in silence for a moment before she heard a muffled sob come from her son.

"Henry, what is it?"

"I was just so scared last night. First when he showed up at the stables and grabbed me and then when James walked out of there without you. I was so mad at him for leaving you alone, but he just kept saying he wanted me away from there and that he was coming back for you." Henry said through another sob. "All I could think about were all the mean things I said to you about being the Evil Queen and I couldn't even remember the last time I told you that I love you. I'm so sorry mom! Can you ever forgive me?"

Regina had begun to cry with her son, and she finally moved to sit up and brought him with her. She adjusted him so he was on her lap and she took his face in her hands. "Henry, of course I forgive you, but you really have nothing to be sorry for. You were angry with me because I had lied to you for so long. I wasn't the mother I wanted to be to you and I'm sorry for that. Can you forgive me?"

Henry nodded and buried his face in his mother's neck. She hugged him tight both of them softly crying in each other's arms.

Henry pulled back and looked at her face again. "You weren't a bad mom you know, actually you're a pretty good one except for the whole curse thing . I've missed you so much." Regina sobbed at that and pulled him back to her. He kissed her cheek and whispered "I love you mom."

Regina thought her heart would simply burst with love for him. "I love you too my sweet baby boy."

Henry pulled back and now had a lopsided grin on his face. "You know I'm not a baby anymore right?"

Regina grinned back through her tears as she told him "You will always be my baby."

"Yeah, yeah" He rolled his eyes and Regina gave a genuine laugh. His face went serious again as he looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry about Daniel."

Regina kissed his cheek as she said "Me too."

"Maybe sometime you can tell me about him….like how you guys fell in love and everything." He looked at her a little unsure if might be to painful for her to ever talk about, but she just smiled at him.

"I would like that." She found herself looking forward to it. She had never had anyone she could tell about him and found that she wanted to share that part of herself with her son.

"Mom?" Regina looked up not sure how many more serious questions she could take this early in the morning.

"Yes Henry."

"I'm starving! Do you think you could fix me breakfast? Cooking is not one of Gramps' strengths and I'm getting tired of burnt eggs."

As if on queue they heard a loud crash from the kitchen which sent them both into fits of laughter.

Regina kissed her son on the forehead and said with a wide smile "I'll do what I can."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Regina and Henry came out of the bedroom hand in hand. She was amused to find James standing in the kitchen looking very much out of his element.

Henry ran to the counter and happily announced his mom was making breakfast.

James looked up at her then. He could see she had been crying but she looked much lighter. Like some of the weight had been lifted off her shoulders. He was glad to see it.

"You don't have to do that Regina, I was just going to fry up some eggs." he said lightly.

She smirked at him "On the contrary James it's my understanding that the last time you cooked you nearly burnt the place down. I think I will make breakfast this morning just to avoid any hazards."

He eyed Henry and grabbed the boy up in a head lock. "You weren't supposed to tell anybody about that!" He said referring to the small grease fire he had stared a few days before.

Henry just laughed and said "I wanted to actually be able to eat my breakfast this morning and I knew telling her would convince her to cook for us."

Henry laughed even harder when James picked him up and turned him upside down holding him by his legs. James turned to face Regina who realized she had been grinning like a fool and said "Let us get out of your way."

Regina moved into the kitchen to see what they had in the cabinets that she could make and asked "How about pancakes and bacon?" which was met with cheers from both Henry and James.

She hated to admit that she liked the way they were together. Their playful banter and just all around easiness they seemed to have with one another was refreshing. She found herself wondering what Daniel would have been like with Henry.

She pushed the thought away again. She didn't want to interrupt Henry's happy giggles by becoming a sobbing mess on the floor again.

She finished breakfast quickly and called them both back to the kitchen. As they sat down at the table James said "This looks great. I gotta admit I was starting to get a little tired of my cooking."

"Me too!" Henry groaned loudly causing both James and Regina to laugh. "Mom makes the best pancakes in the world! They are even better then the ones at Granny's."

James took a large bite and nodded in a agreement.

They ate in companionable silence for a while. James and Henry making quick work of theirs.

Henry looked up at Regina, "Mom, can I stay with you today?" Regina's face lit up that he would want to spend more time with her and she looked at James for confirmation that it was ok with him. He simply nodded his agreement and Regina answered "Of course."

"I could pick him up after dinner if that works for you." James told her.

Regina looked at him for a moment remembering how kind he had been to her the night before and she answered. "You could, or you could come for dinner if you like, since you have grown tired of your own cooking."

He looked at her for a moment understanding this was her offer of a treaty of sorts then smiled and accepted her invitation.

She looked back at Henry and told him he needed to go get dressed if he was going to come with her. He jumped up and ran from the table.

She sat in silence for a few moments before she finally spoke. "James, I want to thank you for what you did for me last night. It was very sweet especially considering how you feel about me."

"You're welcome" he searched her face for a moment and she found herself feeling self conscious under his intense gaze. "How are you?"

She gave a small smile "Better, especially after waking up with my son this morning. It was exactly what I needed."

"I thought it might be." He grabbed another pancake off the stack and she wondered how on earth one person could possibly put away so much food. As if in answer to her thought he said "Thanks for breakfast. Henry was right, best pancakes I've ever had." He grinned at her "So what's for dinner?"

**Hope you all enjoyed! Please review and I'm open to suggestions on what you would like to see happen :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. **

**Sorry it took so long to update but I had a very busy Christmas.**

**There's a little bit of Evil Charming sexy times in this one. :) Hope you enjoy.**

Regina quickened her pace on her way to the school to pick up Henry. It was an uncharacteristically warm day and she had decided to walk to pick him up instead of drive. Normally she was always punctual but today she had been planning a surprise for her son and she had lost track of time. She quickened her pace a little hoping that he wasn't sitting out front by himself wondering where she was.

She had picked up Henry the last several days as the demands on James' time from the towns people seemed to be growing. Not that she was complaining, she was thrilled to be spending more time with her son. She was also very grateful to James for allowing it as well. She knew that he had taken a verbal lashing from several of the towns people for his new found trust in her.

The two of them had actually started to form a cautious friendship. She had cooked dinner for him and Henry every since that first night she had offered. She was actually starting to like having James around. It was nice to have an adult to talk to every now and then and she found herself looking forward to seeing him.

As she rounded the corner she saw her son standing on the steps of the school house talking with a boy. As she got closer she realized that it was Hansel. When they spotted her Hansel quickly made excuses and ran off in the other direction. She felt a small pang that her sons friends were afraid of her. Henry however didn't seem to mind to much as he ran full out to Regina and tackled her around the waist.

Her heart leapt as she hugged him back and kissed him on the top of his head. She knew he was still a little tore up over the possibility of loosing her and she found herself wondering how long his enthusiasm to see her would last. Despite all of their progress over the last few days Regina still feared that the bottom would drop out.

Henry looked up at her and gave her the lopsided grin that always made her heart melt. "Hi Mom!"

"Hi baby." She smiled back at him. "I'm sorry I'm late picking you up. I was working on a little project for later and lost track of time."

"It's ok, I was just talking to Hansel." He took her hand as they began to walk. "What project were you working on? Was it something to help bring back Emma and Mary Margaret?"

Her light heartedness fell a bit as he brought the two women up but she tried not to let it show. "No actually it was something for you." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and grinned.

"What is it?" He asked clearly excited that he had some sort of surprise waiting for him.

"You will find out soon enough." She grinned at the impatient groan he let out. "Before you do though I was thinking we could go to Granny's for some hot chocolate." She really just wanted to draw out the anticipation a little.

They walked into Granny's and found a booth. It wasn't long before Ruby showed up at the table to take their orders. When their orders had been placed Henry had asked if he could play a video game and Regina had agreed. She sat in the booth watching her son play and couldn't help but have a smile on her face.

Ruby eyed Regina from the corner of the restaurant suspiciously. She still did not trust The Queen but was also in need of some answers. James kept insisting that he believed that Regina really was trying to redeem herself and the fact that he allowed her so much alone time with Henry proved that he really did trust her or at the very least was sure she would never hurt her son.

She watched as Henry got up and ran to the video games and her heart softened as she watched Regina watch her son.

Anyone who could look at their child like that couldn't be all bad.

She decided to bite the bullet. The truth was she needed help and Regina may just be the only one who could give it to her.

"Regina?"

Regina was slightly startled to hear her name and looked away from her son to see Ruby standing by her table.

"I was wondering if I could speak to you for a minute?"

She was still unsure of the towns people and was expecting some sort verbal beating about tricking the Prince into trusting her so instead of answering she simply looked Ruby in the eye and gestured for her to sit across from her.

Ruby sat down somewhat awkwardly but said nothing yet. It seemed she was having trouble finding her words.

Regina raised an eyebrow and finally broke the silence. "I believe you were the one who wanted to talk to me."

Ruby shifted uncomfortably but finally spoke. "Right…well…I was wondering…now that magic is in Storybrooke if that is going to affect….everybody."

When Regina only looked at her slightly confused Ruby continued. "It's just that the full moon is coming and I am scared I'm going to turn again."

Regina nodded in understanding. "Well magic is unpredictable here so there's no way to be sure, but I think there is definitely a possibility." She tried to look Ruby in the eye but the girl was looking down at the table. "Why is that you are so worried though? I was under the impression that you had learned to control it."

Ruby huffed this was not the answer she had hoped for. "It's been 28 years since I turned last! What if I have forgotten how to have control when I'm in that form? You just said yourself magic is different here, what if I hurt someone?"

Regina could hear the panic laced in Ruby's voice so she placed her hand over hers causing her to look up into her eyes.

"Ruby I'm sure it will be alright. Magic is different here, but once you understand the way it works you adjust to it."

"What if I don't have time to adjust to it Regina? What if I can't control it and end up hurting someone?" Her eyes shone with tears. "I killed the only man I ever loved because I couldn't control it."

Regina softened considerably and stroked the girls hand in sympathy. This was something she could understand and she found herself wanting to help.

"You have to help me Regina. There has to be a way to keep me from turning. Do you have any idea where my hood is?"

Regina shook her head. "I don't know. Have you tried Gold's?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes" I asked him about it and he claimed not to know. I didn't really believe him so I broke in last night to be sure. It was no where to be found."

If Regina was slightly amused that she had broken in to Gold's shop she didn't let it show.

"Tell you what, I will do some research see if I can get some answers to where it may have ended up." Regina patted Ruby's hand. "In the mean time you can start working on a way to maybe keep yourself contained when in wolf form until you can adjust to the magic in this world and learn to control it again."

"Isn't there something else you can do? A spell or something to keep me from turning? Someone enchanted that hood. Couldn't you enchant something else that would do the same thing?" Ruby pleaded.

Regina shook her head again. "There is no spell that will stop a person from turning, and as for your hood, as far as I know it is the only one ever made and I would have no idea where to even start. I'm sorry Ruby."

Ruby sighed in defeat and tears sprang to her eyes again.

This time Regina took her by both hands. "It's going to be alright Ruby."

"What if you can't find the hood?"

"Then we will figure something else out." Regina stated flatly. "Maybe I could work with you on how to get in tune with the magic in this world so when you turn it will be more familiar to you."

Ruby sighed. "I thought you hadn't been using magic."

Regina gave a small smile. "Well I haven't but that doesn't mean I can't help you get in tune with yours."

Ruby gave a little smile back. She was surprised that Regina was willing to not only help but seemed so genuine. "Ok maybe we can get together for lunch tomorrow and talk some more about it?"

"Sure." Regina gave her hand a reassuring pat as Henry ran back to their table and downed the hot chocolate Ruby had brought when she sat down.

"Mom can I have my surprise now?"

Regina's smiled widened "I guess now is as good a time as any." She pulled out her wallet to pay for their cocoa and Ruby touched her hand to stop her.

"This one's on me." She gave Regina a genuine smile.

Regina smiled back. "Thank you. I guess I will see you tomorrow then." She moved to get out of the booth and added "Try not to worry ok. We will work it out."

Ruby nodded as mother and son exited the diner. She wouldn't believe it if she hadn't just sat through the conversation herself but she had just excepted help from The Evil Queen. She smiled to herself wondering when exactly it was that Hell had frozen over.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Regina had pulled up to the stables Henry had been very unsure. He hadn't been back since the night Daniel had grabbed him.

He had looked up at Regina to see if she was ok but she only smiled at him and told him that it was time for him to get on that horse.

It had been hard for Regina to come back here after what had happened but her son wanted to learn to ride and the smile that came over his face when she helped him onto his horse was all she needed to settle her nerves.

She was currently walking them around the paddock and Henry was begging her to let the horse run.

"Henry you aren't ready for that yet. It takes time but if you keep up your lessons you will be ready before you know it." She told him for probably the tenth time since they had been there.

"But mom I want to run like the knights do! I bet it feels like your flying." He said it pleading with her.

Regina sighed giving in. "You want to run?" Henry nodded excitedly. She moved one of his feet out of the stirrups and swung herself up behind him. After some adjusting of position they both sat comfortable on the back of the horse, Henry with his feet in the stirrups and hers dangling.

She leaned down and whispered into Henry's ear. "Then lets run!" Henry let out a whoop as they took off across the field.

XXXXXXXXXXX

James was exhausted. It had been an unbearable long day full of custody disputes and small town spats. As he left the office he found himself wondering if Regina had made dinner that night. He was getting used to her glorious cooking every night.

He pulled out his phone to call and let her know he was on his way but saw that she had left him a voice mail. He smiled a little and pushed the button to listen. His smile started to fade as he listened to what she had said.

The stables. Why would she go back there after what had happened? Was she a glutton for punishment?

He climbed into his truck and took off towards the stables afraid of what he might find when he got there.

He and Regina had formed somewhat of a friendship over the last several days. He found himself looking forward to seeing her every night. He enjoyed her company which surprised him and he found himself thinking about her when they weren't together. He enjoyed the way her smile could light up a room and the rich sound of her laughter when Henry told a funny story about his day. The unique smell of her when he would help her clean up after dinner and they would stand close to each other in front of the sink.

He found his mind drifting to the night they had spent together. It seemed like ages ago but he could remember everything. Her intoxicating taste was like nothing he had ever tasted in his life and he desperately wanted to taste her again. Her skin was so soft as he had ran his hands over her body and his breath hitched as he remembered how her nipples had hardened against his touch. He grew uncomfortable when he thought of the moan that had escaped her when he had closed his mouth over one them.

God he had to stop thinking about her!

The truth was he found himself thinking more of Regina then his own wife. He felt the guilt rise up in his gut. He had to get his wife and daughter back. He was sure this infatuation with Regina would pass once his wife was back home with him. Maybe then he wouldn't be so…horny…for lack of a better word. If he didn't know any better he would think that Regina had cast some kind of spell on him. He laughed at that thought the minute he had it. Regina would never risk loosing her son by doing magic even if it was for a roll in the hay with him.

No, this was entirely his problem and what made it worse was that she wasn't even trying to seduce him. He was this worked up simply by her being herself.

He pulled up to the stables and got out of his truck. He walked in expecting to find Regina and Henry inside but they were no where to be found.

That was when her heard it. Henry's loud joyful laughter was unmistakable. He found himself smiling and wishing her heard it more often. Henry acted so grown up most of the time that James often found himself forgetting that he was just a kid and all kids should have the opportunity to laugh like that. He made a mental note to carve out some time for more fencing lessons with him.

He walked out the back of the stable and what he saw took his breath away. Henry was grinning ear to ear but James' eyes were drawn to the woman behind him. The only word he could think for her was "stunning". Her smile was wide and the sound of her laughter carried on the air like a song. Her hair was blowing behind her and James thought he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. She looked like some kind of goddess flying through the air on her noble steed.

Henry spotted him first which had Regina looking up still smiling. They changed direction and trotted toward James who was still trying to compose himself.

The minute the reached him Henry climbed down and started dancing around telling James all about his riding lesson. James finally tore his eyes from Regina who still sat astride the horse smiling at her sons recap of the day.

"From what I saw it looks like you are gonna be a pro in no time." James ruffled Henry's hair. Henry grinned up at him obviously proud of himself.

James shifted his attention back to Regina and held up both arms offering to help her off the horse.

Regina simply raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I am perfectly capable of dismounting my own horse."

James countered. "What kind of prince would I be if I didn't offer to help a lady down. It wouldn't be very proper of me now would it?" he winked down at Henry who snorted.

Regina gave in and leaned into his hands placing her hands on his shoulders as she slid off the horse. Once her feet were on the ground they stood looking at each other for a moment. His hands were still on her hips and hers resting lightly on his shoulders.

"Thank you my prince." Regina mocked.

"You're welcome Your Majesty." James shot back with a grin.

Regina rolled her eyes and James turned to face Henry. "Ok kid, part of riding a horse means you have to take care of him afterward. Take him into his stall and groom him the way I showed you. Be sure and get him some fresh water."

Henry was thrilled to be given a task to do on his own and took the horse by the reigns walking him into the stable.

Once Henry had disappeared James turned back to Regina. "Thanks for bringing him here Regina. The kid needed a break from all the adult stuff in his life. Something I seem to be forgetting."

Hearing the defeat in his voice Regina looked up at him and saw how tired he looked.

"Long day?" She asked gently.

James groaned and simply shook his head. "I have found myself wondering if it is possible to be anymore useless then I feel at the moment." James shook his head as leaned back against the wall of the stable. "I'm pretty sure I have managed to fail the whole town at this point with all their squabbles and petty fights and I have yet to solve even one! Then there is the matter of my wife and daughter who I still haven't figured out how to get back and now I've been neglecting Henry too!"

She could tell he was in pain and was sorry for it. She walked over to him and gently touched his cheek with her hand. "I think you are taking to much on yourself James. One person can't do everything despite that person thinking he is Superman. As far as your wife and daughter are concerned you are not the only one who has come up with nothing or have you forgotten that I have yet to think up a solution either." She brought her other hand up and held his face in her hands. "And as for Henry he is fine and remarkably well adjusted considering everything that has happened in the last few weeks. Give yourself a break."

He wasn't sure why he did it. It was as if he had no control at all over his own body but he found himself bringing his hands back up to her hips and pulling her closer to him. Confusion flashed in her eyes briefly until James brought his lips down to hers in a gentle kiss.

Her lips parted under his and he deepened the kiss wishing somehow he could just pull her into himself.

Regina was trying to think. What was happening? How had they ended up like this? She pulled away for a brief moment to look at him with shock on her face and what she saw in his eyes was pure need and she found herself wanting to kiss him again. She pulled him back down to her and this time kissed him back.

His hunger increased and he let out a moan as he shifted their positions so that Regina's back was against the stable wall. He let his hands run over her body and Regina shuddered at his touch. He stopped briefly at her breasts as her nipples hardened under his thumbs through the thin fabric of her shirt. He then trailed his hands down to run over her bottom he pulled her hips closer to him and she let out a moan when she felt how hard he had become.

The need that had arose in Regina took her by surprise. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own as she pulled his shirt loose from his pants and slid her hands up over his bare chest. She dropped her head back exposing her neck for his mouth.

"Regina" He panted against her skin "Oh God Regina I want you."

His voice seemed to snap her back to reality. What were they doing? They were about to take each other right here with her son only a few feet away.

"James' She said softly as he continued to feast on her neck. His hands had moved back to her breasts which was making it harder for her to think.

"James we have to stop." she said it more firmly this time and reluctantly took his hands that were doing amazing things to her body into her own. "Henry could come out any minute."

Her voice had finally broke through to him. He panted against her skin reluctant to pull away just yet.

Regina was trying to steady her own breathing as well. She had released his hands and now had hers resting lightly on his hips. They stayed as they were a minute both trying to regain their composure before Regina finally spoke.

"Why don't you go on out to your truck and…calm down a bit." she said looking at the rather large bulge that was still in his pants. He blushed a little when he caught her meaning. She simply grinned. " I will go in and finish helping Henry then we can go back to my house and have dinner. Once Henry is in bed you and I can talk."

He brought his hand up to her cheek and wiped away a smudge of dirt. "Just talk?" He said it with a grin as he leaned down and kissed her lips gently.

She shivered under is touch and his intense gaze and said. "We'll start with talking."

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**Would love to know what you think. Please Review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reviewing! You all asked for sexy so hopefully you like it!**

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James cursed himself on the drive to Regina's house. What the hell was he doing? He had a wife! Not just a wife but a wife that was his true love. They were Snow White and Prince Charming! No where in any story he had ever heard did Prince Charming end up in bed with the Evil Queen.

He couldn't explain his feelings for Regina. At first he had just assumed it was lust. No doubt about it Regina was a sexy woman and James knew that he was not the only man who found himself staring at her, but something had shifted and if he was honest with himself it was no longer only lust that he felt.

He wasn't sure when exactly it had happened but he had started to LIKE her. She was funny and interesting and actually seemed to have a big heart. At least when she thought no one was watching her. It appeared that he had come to care about this woman who he had thought completely evil for so long.

She may not be doing magic anymore but he was under her spell. Everything thing she did simply captivated him. He couldn't even begin to explain the feeling that came over him when he saw her with Henry. It was the only time her carefully constructed shield was fully down. She practically glowed with love for her son and it made her all the more beautiful in his mind. Everyone in this town called her evil and thought her incapable of love but they were wrong. She went so much deeper then that and it only made him want to understand her more.

He pulled up to her house and just sat in his truck thinking. He should go home. He should call her and make excuses and turn his truck around. One thing James knew is if he walked into her house tonight things may never be the same again.

It was time for him to be completely honest with himself. He knew that if Regina was willing they would end up sleeping together and right now there was nothing he wanted more then Regina's body beneath his. Was he willing to give up everything to have it though? Their previous one night stand could be forgiven he knew…after all they had been cursed. If he slept with Regina now though, knowing the truth, he wasn't sure his wife would be able to forgive that. He should go.

His mind drifted back to the stables and how it had felt to be so close to her. Feeling her hands on his skin had been incredible and kissing her beautiful soft lips….he could still taste her.

He let out the breath and climbed out of his truck. She had beat him here as he spent a little time driving around trying to clear his head. He stood on her door step trying to will himself to get back in his truck and drive away. Instead he raised his hand to the door and knocked.

He heard what sounded like a stampede of cattle rushing down the stairs and grinned when he heard Henry's voice holler out "I got it!"

Henry swung the door open wide and smiled! "Hey Gramps!"

"Hey kid" James smiled back and grabbed him up in a head lock. "Something smells great in here."

"Mom had a pot roast cooking in the crock pot all day." Henry stated trying to wiggle out of the head lock. "I'm starving." He said when James finally freed him.

"Me too. Is your mom in the kitchen?"

"Yep, she said dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Have you done your homework already?" James asked him.

"Working on it now." Henry said heading back up the stairs. "Almost done."

When Henry disappeared up the stairs James headed into the kitchen. Regina was preparing salad when he walked in and had her back to him. He took a moment to appreciate the sight of her in the snug blue jeans. He didn't think he had ever seen her wearing them before.

She had heard him come in but still said nothing. Her heart had given a little jump as he walked in the room. She was grateful to have something to do with her hands.

James knew that she knew he was there. He had expected her to say something, instead she continued to make the salad pretending she didn't know he had walked in.

Her hand looked a little unsteady as she was cutting a tomato. Was he making her nervous?

"Are you just going to stand there staring at me or are you going to offer to set the table?" She finally broke the silence.

James grinned behind her back. "Right now staring at you is sounding pretty good." He stepped closed to her. "You know, you really should wear jeans more often. They're very…flattering on you."

He watched as a blush crept into her cheeks but she turned and looked him in the eye with a slight smirk. "Thank you. I will be sure to take your fashion advice into consideration."

He leaned in close to her ear and said in almost a whisper. "You should. You look incredibly sexy." He brushed his lips lightly in the crook of her neck as he reached around her to open the cabinet with the plates in it. Her breath caught a little as she tilted her head to the side to give him better access. He obliged her with more soft kisses to her neck as he snaked his free arm around her stomach and pulled her back towards him. Never breaking contact with her neck. She let out a small whimper as she turned her head seeking his lips. He held her as she was with her back to him but leaned in to take her mouth in a hungry kiss.

All thought had seemed to vanish from her head the minute he had placed his lips to her skin. His kiss was full of passion and she brought a hand up to touch his cheek as she let him explore her mouth. It had been so long since anyone had shown her this kind of hunger. She knew that letting this happen was a bad idea. Hell, it was the king of all bad ideas but she couldn't seem to stop herself. It felt so amazing to not only be wanted this way but to realize that she desperately wanted him back.

Their moment was interrupted by the heavy stomping on the stairs. They broke apart and this time it was Regina who flustered James "We'll pick this up later." Her smile was seductive.

"Mom when are we gonna eat?" Henry whined from the doorway.

"Almost ready." She said without looking up.

After finally regaining his composure James reached for the plates he had laid forgotten on the counter while kissing Regina and said "Come on kid, you can help me set the table."

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Dinner had been interesting. James and Regina had let Henry do most of the talking. He had gone on and on sharing the events of his day with them.

James found himself unable to stop staring at Regina. He hoped Henry hadn't noticed.

After dinner Henry had talked them both into a movie. James had hoped the riding lesson from the day might have tired the boy out enough that he would want to turn in early but no such luck. The kid had still been bouncing off the walls with excitement from his day.

It had been about halfway through "Finding Nemo" that his eyes had started to droop as he leaned against his mother shoulder.

She roused him from his almost sleep and told him it was time for bed. He protested some wanting to finish the movie but Regina promised she would finish it with him tomorrow.

She had been gone a while. James assumed that the boy had talked her into telling him a story. James smiled to himself. The kid was an operator and he definitely knew how to wrap Regina around his finger.

He heard her footsteps coming down the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been waiting to be alone with her all evening.

He looked up when she walked in the room. "Henry talk you into a story?"

She laughed. "Two actually." She stayed where she was and simply leaned against the doorway.

James stood up and started to walk towards her.

"James I think we need to talk about this."

He continued to move closer to her. "Ok lets talk."

The look in his eyes had her heart racing. "It's just that this….you and me is a really bad idea."

He had reached her by now and stood only inches away from her but not touching her. "I agree, it's a terrible idea." he reached up a hand to caress her cheek.

His touch was sending shivers down her spine. "The worst idea in the history of all bad ideas." she tried desperately to remain rational.

He brought his other hand up and now gently held her face in his hands. "Do you want me to go?"

She let out a shaky breath and shook her head. "No." She brought her hands up to his waist as he slowly lowered his lips down to hers.

The kiss was seductively slow. James pulled away for a moment and ran his hands down her arms taking her hands into his. "Are we about finished talking?"

Instead of answering Regina threw herself onto him wrapping her legs around his waist kissing him in a way he had never been kissed before. He was surprised by her sudden need but happily brought his hands down to her bottom to hold her in place. She had pulled away from his lips and was now trailing hot kisses down his neck. He gasped when she took his earlobe between her teeth and whispered "Bedroom now!" He wondered if it were possible for a persons body to simply explode.

He started toward the stairs with her still clinging to him. She brought her mouth back to his causing him to stumble and nearly sent both of them flying. He let out a shaky laugh as he continued to climb the stairs. "You know we will never make it to the bedroom in one piece if you don't stop being so distracting." He let out a moan when instead of answering she ran her tongue down the line of his neck.

He somehow made it to the bedroom and once there pushed her up against the wall. She reached her hand out and shut the door before returning her full attention to him again.

She had now unwrapped her legs from around him and was standing pressed to the wall. James was grateful to have his hands free as her ran them up her sides. He desperately wanted to touch her. He brought his hands back down to the hem of her t-shirt as she raised her arms, in one quick move he had it off and on the floor. She was wearing a simple black bra with just a hint of lace around the edges. It was ridiculously sexy. He grinned and brought his head down to kiss the newly exposed flesh.

Regina couldn't breathe the only thing going through her mind at the moment that she wanted to feel his skin under her hands. She tugged his flannel shirt from his pants and began working on the buttons but was fumbling, her fingers didn't seem to want to cooperate with her.

James was finding it slightly amusing that he had her so worked up she couldn't even work the buttons on his shirt. Just as he was about to pull back and help her she let out a frustrated breath grabbed both sides of the shirt and tore it down the middle.

James chuckled. "A bit eager are we?" His laugh turned into a moan when she brought her lips down to his chest that she was still exploring with her hands.

She pushed the ruined shirt the rest of the way off and brought her hands around to his bottom giving it a tight squeeze as he brought his mouth back down to hers. He moved his hand to the front her of jeans and after releasing the button and the zipper pushed them down over her hips. She stepped out of them gracefully and he saw that her panties matched her pretty black bra. She was the sexiest woman he had ever seen.

She reached for his belt buckle as they made their way to the bed. Just as he unhooked the back of her bra. She shrugged out of it and he stepped back a moment just to look at her. For a moment she felt self conscious under his intense stare. His hands were gentle as he ran them up her body and his voice rough with passion as he said "You are so beautiful."

Her breath caught at his sudden tenderness. He brought his lips down to hers as he caressed her.

She had managed to open his jeans and she brought her hand down to run it along his length. He let out a deep groan as he lowered her to the bed. He stepped out of his jeans and boxers all at one time before returning his attention the beautiful brunette who was now laying on her back. He let the exploration of he body continue only this time using his mouth. He teased her with his tongue running it along her stomach. He feathered light kisses between her breasts and back up to her neck. He was teasing her and it was having the desired effect. She took his hand that was currently on her hip and brought it to her breast herself. She desperately wanted him to touch her there. He obliged her by teasing her nipple with his thumb as he brought his mouth down to the other one. She gasped and arched her back when he closed her nipple lightly between his teeth then let go soothing it with his tongue.

She whimpered as her need for him grew. He was feasting on her body and Regina's heart was pounding so hard she thought it may possibly just beat right out of her chest. She wanted him NOW!

"James please!" She panted it against his skin.

He grinned down at her and moved down her body again to remove her panties. He kissed her legs on the way back up and as came to her belly he slipped his hand down to her center and let out a groan of his own when her found her warm and wet. Positioning himself between her legs he brought his mouth back up to hers and hovered for just a moment. He covered her mouth at the same time as he drove himself into her swallowing the cry she let out.

She came almost immediately and her body felt weak after the intense orgasm. Her arms fell limp to the bed. She felt as if she had lost all motor function. James leaned down and took her lips in a passionate kiss again and whispered "Stay with me Regina." She opened her dark eyes and looked into his intense blue ones. She brought her hands back up to his shoulders as she could feel her body heading toward another peak.

He heard her gasp and felt her muscles contract around him as she came again and he allowed himself to go with her.

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He wasn't sure how long they laid there. He had somehow found the energy to roll off of her and brought her with him so she was now snuggled against his chest. God she felt good cuddled up to him like this. It was as if their bodies had been made to fit each other. He stroked her hair as he held her close to him while she traced lazy circles on his chest with her fingers. He could feel her breath against his skin. Neither had spoken they just laid in each others arms both silently wondering what was next.

Regina was sure she had never felt so completely satisfied. It felt so good to be wrapped in his arms and she silently wished that this night would never end, but of course as all good things in her life came to an end this would too. She let out a sigh.

"Whatcha thinking about?" He finally broke the silence.

She looked up at him resting her chin on his chest and smiled. "Just that I suppose I'm going to have to buy you a new shirt."

He chuckled. "I have to say that surprised me, I mean I knew you wanted me but I had no idea you wanted me that bad. I'm pretty sure I heard you beg at one point"

She gave a husky laugh "Well you are pretty irresistible."

"I'm irresistible?" He asked as he brought his hand down to cup her naked bottom.

She gave a low hum in her throat as she brought herself up to kiss him. He was already starting to want her again as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. She felt his heart beat quicken under her hand and she shifted her self so she was straddling him. He brought his hands up to run them along her body but she pushed them back down.

She leaned in close to his ear and whispered "I think it's my turn to make you beg."

He let out a strangled cry as her mouth began to make its way down his body. "Well that sounds…..promising." he managed to choke out before loosing all thought completely.

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**Hope you all enjoyed! Please Review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! Struggled with this one a little. Please Review!**

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James woke to find himself wrapped around Regina or maybe it was Regina that was wrapped around him. He couldn't be sure because they were a tangle of limbs laying in the middle of her bed. She had her head laying on his chest and an arm draped possessively over his waist. He brought his hand up to stroke her hair. It felt like silk under his hand.

She stirred a little and he pulled his arms tighter around her, not wanting her to get up yet.

Regina felt James pull her closer and she smiled a little at the feeling. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so safe and warm. She looked up at him and smiled. "Good morning."

James' heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him. He smiled back. "Good morning beautiful."

Regina felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks. It happened every time he told her she was beautiful. She definitely was not used to hearing that.

He watched as her cheeks went pink and wondered why she always seemed so surprised to hear that. She had to know she was gorgeous. He leaned in to give her a light kiss. He would just have to be sure and tell her more often.

"We should probably get up. I wouldn't want Henry to find us in bed together." Regina tried to shift out of his arms but James held tight.

He shifted to look at the clock. "It's just a little after six and if there is one thing I have learned about Henry in my time with him it's that he doesn't get up on his own until at least 8:00 and most of the times that is a fight. Besides I'm not quite ready to let you up yet."

She chuckled at the thought of him dragging Henry out of bed as she had done so many mornings herself. "I suppose a few more minutes couldn't hurt." She grinned up at him.

"Good." He shifted his position so that she was on her back and he hovered over her. She giggled as he kissed her cheeks then began to trail light playful kisses down her neck. She squirmed at the tickling sensation on her skin.

She was so full of surprises. Had he just made her giggle? He brought his face back up to her and just looked at her. She had a huge smile on her face and laughter in her eyes. There were no walls up now, just Regina. He smiled back at her and said "Gosh you're pretty." then planted a firm smacking kiss on her lips.

There it was again, that blush creeping up in her cheeks. Regina silently cursed herself for acting like a school girl. What was he doing to her? She tried to bring herself back under control again but failed miserably as he peppered kisses all over her face. She finally gave in and let herself enjoy the moment fully. It had been a long time since she had felt this carefree.

She opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her. She trailed her hands from his waist up his chest finally bringing both hands to his face as she just looked up at him for a moment. "Gosh you're handsome" she repeated his earlier words and this time it was him who blushed.

She brought one hand around to the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss. He let out a moan as the kiss deepened and he allowed himself to become lost in her once again.

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They decided to tell Henry and anyone in town who had noticed James' truck parked there all night that he had crashed on the couch making the excuse that Henry had been tired and they had a late night, which Regina smirked to herself had been true enough. No need to let anyone know that their late night hadn't had anything to do with bringing Snow and Emma back.

Regina hummed as she made breakfast. She had decided on French toast. It was one of her specialties and she wanted this mornings breakfast to be special. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she dropped a piece of batter soaked toast in the pan.

Henry sat on the stool at the kitchen island and watched his mother as she made breakfast. She was singing. In the last few weeks their relationship had improved and his mom had seemed much lighter but this….this was something else.

He had woken up this morning to find James still there. His mother had told him that James had decided to sleep there because they had had a late night. Looking at his mother now Henry wasn't so sure that was all of it.

He had seen how James had looked at her the night before at dinner. He hadn't been able to stop starring at her. It had upset him a little because Prince Charming was supposed to look at Snow White like that. Not his mother.

He watched as James walked in from showering and looked up at him as he ruffled his hair. Henry mumbled hello to him but went back to silently observing the two adults.

James sat down next to him as he called out a cheerful good morning to Regina. She turned and give a wide smile as she wished him good morning as well. Their eyes held each other for a little to long and that was when Henry knew.

There was something more the friendship between his mother and James. He was gonna have to figure out how he felt about that.

He felt a small trickle of panic down his spine that maybe his mom hadn't changed, that she was still the Evil Queen and had somehow tricked James into falling for her. He waited for the anger to bubble up in him that it had all been a trick to try and destroy Snow White and Prince Charming's happiness, but as he looked up at his mother's wide and beautiful smile when she set his plate in front of him the anger didn't come. She was happy. Henry was sure he had never seen her this happy.

He looked over at James who laughed at something his mother had said and that was when the anger hit him and Henry was surprised to figure out that his anger didn't have anything to do with Snow White.

How could James do this to his mom?! Here she was smiling and laughing, happier then Henry had ever seen her and James was going to rip all that away from her. What was going to happen when Emma and Snow came back? James would go running back to Snow his true love and his mother would be left alone….again….. to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.

She had told him the story of how she and Daniel had fallen in love and also how he had died (although Henry thought she left out some of the worst parts). It wasn't fair! She should not have to go through more heart break. She should get to be happy too.

No one had ever stood up for his mom. She never had a White Knight or a Fairy Godmother to come and rescue her. Well all that was going to change because now she had him and he was not going to let her get hurt again. Not ever!

"Henry." his mother's voice brought him out of his thoughts and she had a worried look on her face. "Are you alright sweetheart? I called your name three times."

"Yeah sorry, I was just thinking about that math test I have today." Henry lied. "I'm a little nervous I'm not going to do very good on it."

Regina frowned. It wasn't like Henry to be worried about a test. She was about to press him to see if something else was bothering him when James spoke up. "Hey you'll do fine kid."

Henry turned his head and gave James a small glare before clearing his throat. "Yeah I'm sure you're right. It's just nerves." He stood up to take his plate to the sink and started to walk out of the room but paused. He turned back and walked to his mothers side.

"Thanks for breakfast mom, it was great." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and then put his arms around her in a gentle hug.

Regina was surprised at the sudden tenderness from her son and raised an eyebrow at him when he pulled back from her. She kept her hands at his waist. "Are you sure you're ok?" she asked with concern at his odd behavior.

"Yeah, I just love you." He said it simply.

Regina's smile grew wide again as she pulled him into another hug and kissed his cheek. "I love you too."

"I'm gonna go get my stuff for school." He stated as he backed out of the room.

"Ok." She smiled at him before he turned to run up the stairs.

She turned back to James with a bewildered look on her face.

James just smiled, he had been touched by their interaction. "I guess he's feeling sentimental today."

"Or sick" Regina laughed. "Maybe I should take his temperature."

"Or maybe you should just take it for what it was: a kid telling his mom how much she means to him." He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "This French toast is amazing by the way. Where did you learn to be such a great cook?"

"Oh you know, 28 years of practice." She grinned as he laughed out loud.

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Henry waited until his mom pulled off before making his way back down the stairs. He had paused at the top pretending to join a small group that was talking. He turned around to wave. She smiled and waved back as she drove away.

Henry ran back down the stairs and ducked behind some bushes so he wouldn't be seen sneaking off. He and James needed to have long talk about his mom. If James thought he could just walk into his mothers life, make her fall for him and then leave her as soon as his true love came back he had another think coming.

Henry was determined that he was going to protect her.

He made his way to the police station quickly slipping down alleyways so he wouldn't be seen.

When he got to the police station he took a deep breath as he pulled the door open and walked toward the office James had occupied every since Emma had been gone.

James looked up at the foot steps and was surprised to find Henry standing in front of him. "Henry, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?"

Henry glared at him "I need to talk to you and it's important."

James saw the anger flash in Henry's eyes and wondered what it was he had done to upset the boy. He nodded. "Ok, what do you want to talk about?"

"My Mom."

At that James became a bit more cautious but tried to keep his voice light. "What about her?"

"I want to know what is going on with the two of you." Henry demanded.

James paused. "Well you're mom has been helping me….."

"Don't lie to me!" Henry shouted it. "I know there is more going on then just her helping you!"

"Ok" James said calmly "Why don't you tell me what you think is going on?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm some stupid kid. I want you tell me what you're doing with my mom." He sounded much older then his years.

"Ok Henry, you're right. There is more going on then just her helping me." When Henry said nothing James continued. "Your mother and I have developed…feelings for each other."

When Henry just continued to glare at James he continued. "Henry please don't be upset with your mom about this. The whole situation is just complicated." He thought back to the look on Regina's face this morning when Henry had kissed her and didn't think he could handle being the cause of another rift between them.

"I'm not mad at my mom, I'm mad at you!" Henry said it accusingly. "Do you have any idea what she has been through? She had to watch the love of her life be killed right in front of her. Then he's brought back but he's not the same and she had to kill him herself. After all that she finally picks up the pieces only to have you come in when she's vulnerable and make her fall for you!"

"Henry it really isn't like that, I…."

"You think that just because you're lonely without your wife here that you can just use my mom until you're done with her?" James was shocked that the boy thought that he was using Regina but Henry continued on "When Snow comes back you are going to walk away from my mom leaving her heart broken and she's going to have to pick up the pieces all over again. How many times do you think she can do that before she just gives up?" Henry's voice hitched a little. "You may think that just because no one has ever stood up for her before that you can treat her however you want…hurt her however you want, but she has me now and I'm not going to let you!" He said it fiercely as a tear rolled down his cheek.

James sat back in quiet shock for a minute. He had no idea what to say but he knew for sure that he could not be angry with Henry for the need to protect his mother. He was actually quite proud of him.

He thought long and hard before he finally got up to walk around his desk. He sat on the corner looking Henry in the eye.

"Henry, it is not my intention to hurt you're mom. I lo…. I care about her." What had he been about to say?

Henry had noticed the slip too and was now eyeing him suspiciously.

"Look Henry" James sighed "I don't know what exactly is going to happen between me and your mom, but I do know that I care about her a lot and I want her to be happy too." He placed a hand on Henry's shoulder and the boy looked up at him still with tears in his eyes. "I like seeing her happy, she's beautiful when she's happy. I can't predict the future Henry and obviously in this situation someone is going to get hurt, but I don't want you to think that I am using your mom. I would never do that to her. I have real feelings for her and I think she has them for me too. We are going to have to figure out those feelings if we are gonna be able to move forward."

"I don't want her to be hurt." he said it again as another tear rolled down his cheek.

James watched him, the part of him that wanted to be a grown man and his mother's White Knight warred with the little boy that simply never wanted to see his mom sad.

"I will try my best not to hurt her Henry." It was the best he could promise him.

They were interrupted by the ringing of James' cell phone. He looked at the caller id to see Regina's number. He answered to a frantic Regina who had just been contacted by the school and told Henry never made it to class.

"Regina it's ok he's here with me now." Henry groaned knowing he was going to be in big trouble for this one. "No he's fine" he heard James saying. "Yes he just wanted to talk to me about some stuff man to man." James winked at Henry which had the corners of his mouth turning up a little. "No I'm taking him back to school now." Henry continued to look at James as he broke off the phone call.

"I guess I'm in a lot of trouble, huh?" Henry said quietly.

"Well" James paused "She's mad but I'll see what I can do to smooth things over."

"Thanks" Henry said quietly.

"You're welcome." James smiled at him. "Let's get you back to school."

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Regina waited for Henry on the bench outside of the school house. James had filled her in on why he had skipped class and gone to the police station. She smiled as she thought of her son. He wanted to save her from heart break, to be her White Knight. She was so touched that he wanted to protect her. No one ever had before.

When Henry walked out of the building he saw his mom sitting on the bench waiting for him. He let out a sigh as he started to walk towards her with his head down. As the day had gone on he had started to feel dumber and dumber. He was just a kid and he had been kidding himself to think that he could ever be anyone's hero. Prince Charming probably had a good laugh about it after he dropped him back at school.

Regina spotted him walking towards her looking at his shoes. She watched as he walked almost shyly up to her.

"Hey Mom" he mumbled quietly.

"Hey yourself." she smiled at him and patted the bench next to her.

"I guess I'm gonna get punished for sneaking out of school today." he stated flatly as he sat down on the bench.

Regina watched his face closely. He hadn't looked at her yet. "Punished, no, but I do think we should talk."

"I'm sorry I skipped and I'm sorry I yelled at James! I just wanted to…" He stopped in mid sentence and looked at his shoes again.

"To protect me?" she asked quietly.

He nodded his head. "Pretty stupid I guess."

She brought her hand to his face and lifted his chin so he would look at her. "Why would you say that's stupid?"

"Because I'm not some brave knight that can just ride in and rescue you. I'm just a kid." He sounded defeated.

"You most certainly are not just a kid and you did ride to my rescue today." She stroked his face gently. "Maybe you don't realize it but it took a lot of bravery to do what you did. You stood up for me against Prince Charming." She paused as he just looked at her. "PRINCE CHARMING Henry! That's a pretty big deal." She said it proudly.

A hint of a smile had started to form on his face. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." she said it softly. "I've never had a hero before." his heart leapt at the term, that he could really be a hero. "No one has ever stood up for me the way you did today." She put an arm around him and pulled him close to her side as she kissed his hair. "Thank you." she whispered.

"You're welcome." He said back still bubbling with excitement that she thought he was a hero. "So I'm really not in trouble?" he looked up at her from under his lashes.

She laughed a little. "Not this time, but Henry I want you to promise me you won't skip school anymore. Even hero's and princes need to go to school. Ok?"

"Ok" he grinned up at her for a second but his smile faded a little as he asked "Are you going to keep seeing James?"

Regina didn't even hesitate "Not if you don't want me to."

"What do YOU want?" He asked her.

"Number one, I want you to be happy." She said firmly "But I would like to keep seeing him. I do enjoy being with him and I think we need to figure out what we feel for each other. If we don't do that we will never be able to move on." She echoed James' words from that morning without realizing it.

Henry contemplated her words for a minute then looked back at her face. "I just don't want him to hurt you."

"I don't think he will, at least not on purpose. He isn't a cruel man Henry, he's just a little confused about what he wants right now." She sighed. "A lot of that is my fault because the curse kept him separated from Snow for so long. It would be hard falling back into a marriage that you haven't been in for 28 years."

Henry looked back up at his mom "Maybe." he told her seriously "But I still don't want you to get your heart broken again."

"I don't want that either, but if you don't step out and let people in every now and then how will you ever find true happiness?" She put her hand to his cheek again. "There is always a chance you will get hurt when you let people in your heart, but if you spend all your time being afraid of that then you will miss out on all the happiness in between and in turn become a very bitter person." she sighed and brought her head down to rest against his. "If there is anything I want you to learn from my mistakes Henry it's to not be afraid to let people in."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "How about some hot chocolate?"

He grinned up at her. "Ok."

They stood to walk toward Granny's. Regina still had her arm around him.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm ok if you want to see James but I'm still gonna look out for you. Ok?" as he said it he put his arm around her.

She smiled and leaned over to kiss him on his head again. "Ok."

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**A/N Hope you enjoyed. Lots of Henry and Regina fluff. Please let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Sorry it took so long to update. This week had been crazy!**

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

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Regina picked up the bag with the to go containers and shouted a thanks to Ruby over her shoulder as she walked out of Granny's. She and Ruby had been meeting daily trying to figure out the best way for her to learn to control herself if or when she turned again. Regina had found herself enjoying spending time with her and hoped that they might continue their new found friendship. It was nice having a girlfriend to talk with. Not that she was complaining about Henry or James but she found herself longing to have a female to talk and laugh with.

The full moon was tonight and Ruby had looked terrified when Regina left her at the diner. Regina and James both had been trying to reassure her that she would not hurt anyone but Ruby wasn't nearly as convinced. Unfortunately they had not been able to find her hood.

She and James had been alternating between spending nights at his place and then hers. Henry had begun having nightmares so they now had that reason for her to stay over when nosy people got curious. It had been late when he finally got in last night, crawling into her bed sometime after two. She had smiled when she felt his weight on the other side of her bed and rolled over into his arms where he pulled her tightly to him.

"_Sorry I'm so late." he had whispered as he kissed her hair. "Leroy got himself good and plastered tonight and ended up singing to Astrid outside the convent. I got 5 calls right as I was getting ready to leave the station from people complaining that he had woke them up."_

_Regina chuckled sleepily. "Well what did Astrid say about it?"_

"_She found it endearing" he laughed as he cuddled in closer to Regina "Although Blue still isn't to keen on the idea of the two of them dating. She says that a dwarf and a fairy are just not meant to be."_

"_Well Blue should mind her own business! Who is she to stand in the way of true love?" She said as she shifted her face up to kiss his neck._

_James grinned and looked down in to her sleepy eyes. "What would you think if I stood outside of your window and serenaded you with love songs?"_

_Regina laughed and gave him a quick kiss. "I would think you had lost your mind."_

_James shifted to his side still holding her close to him and pulled her in for a soft slow kiss. When he pulled back she had a small smile on her face and he said "I would do it every night to get me one of those."_

_She chuckled "Why when I will give them to you for free?"_

_He placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "Because every woman deserves to be serenaded."_

He had touched her heart at that moment. She felt so safe and cherished. Regina had denied it up until that point but the truth was that she was falling for him and she was falling hard. It scared her. She hadn't felt this happy and giddy since Daniel.

Daniel…His last words to her had been "Love again." She inwardly kicked herself. This could not possibly be what he had meant. Falling in love with someone who wasn't hers was such a terrible idea and a recipe for disaster.

Not only was he not hers but he was the husband of her worst enemy. There was no way this was going to end well. She had told Henry that she didn't want him to be afraid to let people in and she had followed her own advice, but she was afraid now that the price for that choice was going to be very high for her.

She turned the corner and stood in front of the police station. She had picked him up lunch while she was at Granny's. She made the excuse to herself that she was there anyway and she might as well pick something up for him but if she was honest she really just wanted to see him. She missed him terribly.

He had not only worked late last night but the night before as well. They spent their nights sleeping by each other but Regina missed talking to him, flirting with him, kissing him. She wanted to see his smile.

She walked into the station and turned the corner. He looked up when he heard foot steps and was surprised to find Regina standing in his doorway. She was wearing an unbelievably sexy dress that was a deep purple, cut off a little above the knee and seemed to hug every curve. She also had on a black jacket and healed black boots that came up to the knee.

His heartbeat quickened as he looked at her and he felt desire churning in his stomach. It had been a couple days since they had made love because of the insane hours he had been keeping at the sheriff's station.

He gave her a huge smile. "Well, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

She grinned back and held up the take out bag from Granny's. "I thought our handsome sheriff might like some lunch."

James stood and rounded his desk and walked to her slowly. He leaned in to give her a gentle kiss as she handed him the bag. "Thank you."

She hummed in her throat at his kiss. Damn she missed him. "You're welcome."

He walked back around to his chair and began to pull the food out of the bag. "Wow, I didn't realize how hungry I was until I smelled this." he said before taking a healthy bite of the burger.

Regina sat in the chair opposite of him and smiled. "How has your day been?"

He rolled his eyes as he began to tell her of his morning. Regina couldn't help but stare at him. He really was a gorgeous man. She watched him as he talked and found herself wanting to kiss that spot on his neck that drove him crazy. She wanted to take his shirt off and run her hands along his hard chest. She began to feel flushed so she shrugged off her jacket.

James watched her when she took the jacket off and found that the dress underneath was sleeveless and her well toned arms looked extremely sexy. So did her plunging neck line that gave him just a hint of what might lay underneath.

He cleared his throat and tried to distract himself with his food. He finished off his fries and found the bag empty.

"Well I have to say I'm a little disappointed." he was trying to lighten the mood so he could calm himself down.

She only raised and eyebrow in question.

"No dessert" He winked at her.

She gave a husky laugh. "Oh my, how could I have overlooked dessert?"

"Guess we'll have to find some way for you to make it up to me." He teased.

"Hmm I guess we will." She continued to look at him for a moment before deciding to take action.

She stood slowly and walked around the window behind her that looked into the sheriff's station and pulled the string on the blinds to shut them.

James lifted an eyebrow as she walked slowly to the door. "And might I ask just what it is that you are up to mam?"

She smiled seductively as she closed the door and turned the lock. "Well I'm just feeling a little guilty that I didn't think to bring you dessert. I believe it's only right that I offer you something to satisfy your hunger for something…sweet." She brought her hand up to the zipper on the back of her dress and pulled it down. James watched as the purple fabric fell to the floor. He found himself looking at a lacy black bra with matching panties. His mouth went dry as she stepped out of her dress. She was still wearing her boots.

He had to clear his throat before he was able to find his voice. "I get the feeling I am going to enjoy this treat much more than anything Granny could have baked."

She smiled and began to walk to him. "Oh, I think I can guarantee that."

She straddled his lap and pulled him into a deep kiss. She began undoing the buttons on his shirt desperately wanting to feel his skin under her hands. She pulled off his flannel shirt and then tugged at the t-shirt he wore underneath pulling it up and over his head. Once he was free of it he brought his mouth down to feather kisses over the flesh just above her bra just as he brought his hand around to the back to release it. She moaned as he took her breasts into his hands.

She brought her mouth back to his to share another deep kiss. "James" She sighed it into his mouth. He brought his hands up under her arms and lifted her to the desk. His whole body was on fire and he needed her now.

He quickly removed her panties pulling them over the boots she still wore and made quick work of releasing the button on his pants. He laid her back on the desk sending papers and files tumbling to the floor.

"You are the sexiest woman I have ever seen." he whispered into her ear before taking her right there.

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Regina collapsed against his shoulder in exhaustion. He had managed to lift her back off the desk and she was once again straddling his lap in his office chair. He had his face buried in her neck and she could feel his heavy breathing against her skin.

James breathed in her scent as he attempted to get his heart rate back under control again. He felt her shiver as her cooling skin met the cool air of his office. He used what was left of his energy to pick up the discarded flannel shirt by his chair and wrap it around her rubbing his hands up and down her back in an attempt to warm her.

He felt perfectly content with her there in his arms. He had spent the last several days asking himself what he was going to do about his current situation. He had a hard time imagining ever leaving Snow. After all they were each others true loves. He had just always assumed they would be together forever.

The problem was when he found himself alone while working a late night it wasn't Snow's face he imagined in his mind. It wasn't her smile her wanted to see or her laugh he wanted to hear. It wasn't her he wanted to wrap in his arms and keep safe and warm. It wasn't her lips he wanted to feel against his.

It was all Regina, this beautiful and vivacious woman that he was currently holding against him. There were times he wanted her so much that it hurt. It was her arms he longed to have wrap around him when he came home after a hard day.

His heart melted when she brought her arms up around his neck and nuzzled her face into him. The realization of his feelings slammed into him like a fist.

He was in love with Regina Mills.

He pulled his arms tight around her and found himself never wanting to let go.

She brought up her head and gave him a crooked smile. "You know I don't think I will ever look at this office the same way again."

He returned her grin and added. "I don't think I will look at dessert the same way again. There isn't a cake or pie in the world that will measure up to you."

She smiled and brought her lips down to his for another long kiss. When they pulled back he sighed. "I think I have officially become addicted to your kisses."

The beautiful sound of her laughter filled the room. "Well I guess it's a good thing that I seem to share your addiction. Your kisses are quite intoxicating."

He took her face in his hands and looked at her. "My God you are beautiful." he brought his lips back to hers for a moment and then brought them to kiss her face first on one side then the other. The tenderness of his gesture brought tears to her eyes and she nearly spilled her heart out to him right then and there. She was completely in love with him. She felt panic start to rise up in her and had to fight to keep herself calm.

She cleared her throat and pulled back from him. "I should probably get going so I'm not late picking up Henry." She tried to keep her voice light so he wouldn't hear the panic that had come over her when she realized her feelings for him.

He was sorry to have to let go of her. He would have liked to sit there holding her all day. He wondered what it would be like to just spend a full day with her. No one else around but the two of them. He liked the idea. He might just have to arrange something.

She shrugged off his shirt as she stood and handed it to him as he stood up as well. She started to walk away to pick up her own clothes off the floor when he caught her hand and pulled her back to him again pressing her body to his.

"You know I think I forgot to tell you that you look good…in just your boots." He saw the blush rise to her cheeks and couldn't help lowering his head for another passionate kiss. He hummed in his throat before he finally pulled away. "I guess you better get dressed before I have to take you on this desk again."

She laughed and gave him another quick kiss before turning to gather her clothes. She couldn't stop the blush on her skin as he watched her dress. "You could take a picture" she flashed a smile at him. "It'll last longer."

He simply leaned back against the wall and grinned. "Just enjoying the view."

She had her back turned to him when she pulled on her dress and as she reached back to pull up the zipper she felt him behind her. He took the zipper into his own hand and kissed the middle of her back before pulling it up for her. The intimacy of the gesture had her heart racing again.

"Are you going to stay at my place tonight?" he asked her as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. She felt his breath on the back of her neck.

She cleared her throat. "Yes I was planning on it." she turned around to face him. "Will you be home for dinner?"

"I still have tons of paperwork to do, not to mention going out to the Jones' farm over their land dispute. It will probably be late." He sighed regretfully.

She smiled and kissed him lightly. "I will make you a plate to heat up."

"Thanks" He smiled at her and kissed her one last time. "I'll see you tonight."

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It was late when he got home that night. He walked to the stove where he found the plate she made for him. He pulled up the foil to find fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and a biscuit. He smiled. "Woman should open a restaurant." he said to himself as he popped the plate in the microwave.

It had been an exhausting day. He spent almost 3 hours at the Jones's farm mediating their argument with the neighbors. Then had come back to the office to a huge pile of paperwork that wasn't going to do itself. Of course it made it a little more complicated that most of it had all gotten jumbled together after he and Regina's romantic romp on the desk that afternoon.

He moaned when he bit into her fried chicken. Damn she could cook. His mind drifted back to his afternoon with Regina. No one had ever made him feel the way she did. Even when he was completely in love with Snow and couldn't imagine ever being with anyone else he had never felt this kind of passion and fire. She brought something out in him he didn't even realize was there.

His new found feelings for Regina did not change that he was still desperate to get Snow and Emma back. They were still his family and he couldn't just leave them there. He was going to have to figure something out and soon.

He finished up the last of his food. After washing his plate he made his way to the bathroom for a quick shower. He turned off lights as he began to head towards the upstairs bedroom that he had been sharing with Regina. He stopped to look in on Henry who had recently been having nightmares. The kid was still being fairly cautious with him after their talk at the station, but he was opening back up a little. Honestly he hadn't gotten to spend much time with him as busy as he had been the last few days.

After assuring himself Henry was sleeping soundly he made his way upstairs and found Regina with her back to the door. He didn't know why he was continually surprised by his need to touch her every time she was near, but he climbed into bed and scooted behind her pulling her into him and draping his arm around her waist. He gave her a light kiss on her hair snuggled in and immediately fell asleep.

Regina had been awake when he came in. She hadn't been able to sleep worrying over the new emotions she was experiencing for James. She closed her eyes as she felt him press a kiss to her hair and her heart broke a little. The love she felt for him squeezing her heart painfully. How was she going to let him go when Snow came back? She tried pushing the thought aside but not before a tear rolled down her cheek. She might have to let him go soon, but for now she was going to enjoy every minute she had with him.

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**Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! Thanks to all who reviewed!**

**I was up kind of late writing this one so hopefully there aren't a ton of mistakes.**

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Regina woke feeling safe and warm. It amazed her how good it felt to be wrapped in his arms. She could feel his soft breathing against her neck and suddenly wanted to look at him. She gently turned in his arms so she wouldn't wake him and brought her hand up to his side while she studied his face. She found it hard to breathe with the feeling of love that swelled within her. She felt her heart could almost burst with it.

James woke slowly aware that he was being watched. When he opened his eyes to find her gorgeous face staring back at him his only thought was this was how he wanted to wake up for the rest of his life.

He gave her the smile that melted her heart. "Hi"

"Hi" she smiled back at him as she brought her hand to his cheek and gave him a soft kiss.

He cuddled in closer and nuzzled her neck. "What time is it?"

"Early still" She told him. "A little after six. You should try and get some more sleep."

"Mmmm" He began to rub his hand up and down her side and feathered some light kisses on her neck.

Regina couldn't hold back the small moan as his hand crept under her night gown. She shifted her position to lay on her back giving him better access. He grinned as he brought his lips to hers in a kiss just as his hand found her breast. She sucked in a deep breath as his thumb grazed her nipple. He deepened their kiss as he trailed his hand back down to the hem of her short night gown and pulled it up as she shifted so he could pull it over her head. He grinned once he had freed her of it and went back to letting his hands roam over her body. He trailed kisses down her neck and breasts until he finally took one of her hardened nipples into his mouth. He loved the fact that he could make her whimper and grinned when she let one escape. He trailed his hand over her stomach until he slipped his fingers into her panties.

It wasn't until the phone had rang a couple times that he heard it, but decided to ignore it as he leaned back in to kiss her again. He slipped his hand further into her panties and pressed his hand to her center where he found her warm and wet.

The ringing phone broke through again, apparently whoever it was didn't appear to be giving up.

"Damn it!" it came out on a frustrated sigh as he rolled over to grab his phone from the night stand.

Regina let out a groan of frustration as his hand left her body.

He looked back down at Regina as he answered. "Hello?" She arched her back as he continued to trace the fingers of his free hand over her exposed torso.

"What?!" she opened her eyes at his sharp reply and lifted an eyebrow at him in question. "I'll be right there." he said as he hung up the phone.

"What is it?" She asked still looking at him.

"A body has been found down by the docks. I have to get down there." He looked at her a little regretfully. "I'm sorry."

She shook he head. "It's fine James. You need to go." she sat up and brought the sheet up to cover herself as he got up and pulled on a pair of jeans.

He looked back down at her sitting on the bed half naked with her hair out of place and couldn't help himself, he leaned down to press another kiss to her lips.

"I will call you later." he told her.

She raised a hand to his cheek. "Ok, just be careful."

He smiled. "I will, I promise. I love you."

It wasn't until he saw her eyes widen and her mouth drop open that he realized what he had said.

Had that been out loud?

They both stared at each other for a moment neither knowing what to do or say.

It was he who spoke first.

"I'm sorry Regina I didn't mean to tell you like that….I mean…I wanted to tell you but….I wanted it to be special" He let out a sigh of frustration. He was making a mess of this. "I just wanted it to be at a better time, not when I'm rushing out the door. You know? I just…I looked at you and you were so beautiful sitting there and it just came out." Why wasn't she saying anything?

"Look I get my timing is horrible and I don't expect you to say anything now…not with the way I just sprung that on you, but…" He took her shocked face in his hands so she would look in his eyes and know. "I want you to know it's the truth. I love you Regina."

She was trying to find words but couldn't. She cleared her throat and finally managed "James…I…"

He brought his lips to hers to silence her in a soft kiss. "It's ok Regina you don't have to say anything right now." he moved his hands from her face and pulled her into a gentle embrace. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I wish I could stay." he kissed her hair as he pulled back. "I'll see you later ok?"

She nodded her head and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He got back up to pull his shirt on and she continued to watch him. Once he had gotten his shoes on he moved to the door and opened it.

"James." She called back to him from the bed. He turned back to look at her. "I love you too."

The smile that came over his face lit the entire room. She couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Will you wait up for me tonight?" He asked with a grin.

"I will." she said with a seductive smile as she let the sheet drop back down to her waist and laid back on the bed stretching her arms up over her head as she did so.

He let out a frustrated groan. "You better!"

She let out a seductive laugh as he pulled the door shut.

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It was getting very late and Henry was still awake. Even thought Mr. Gold had given him the necklace to help him control the flames in the room he was still scared to go to sleep. He was in his own room at his mom's house. He didn't want to admit to being scared but he wasn't ready for her to leave him alone yet either.

"Come on Mom one more story!" He asked hoping she would stay with him a little longer but not wanting to just come out and ask.

Regina knew her son well enough to understand what he was up to. She shut the book in her lap and set it on the night stand. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Henry I know you don't want to go back to that room, but the necklace Mr. Gold gave you is going to help you control your actions so you wont have to be afraid while you're there."

Her heart broke at the look of doubt in his eyes and she wished she could take it all on herself so he wouldn't have to. The guilt she felt stab into her heart when she saw his lip tremble was almost more then she could take. It was her fault he was going to that room.

"Would it help if I stay with you until you fall asleep." She asked gently.

He nodded his head and the look on his face reminded her of when he was a little boy and wanted her to scare the monsters from under his bed. She laid down beside him and pulled him up against her kissing his hair as she did.

"Mom will you sing to me?" He hadn't wanted to ask. He had wanted to be grown up and brave but remembered how when he was little and was scared in the middle of the night his mother's singing always calmed him down.

Regina couldn't help but smile into his soft hair. "Of coarse I will."

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It had been a long terrible day for James. He had found that King George had set up Ruby for murder. After going after him he found him with the hat. The only hope of saving his family. It had been thrown it into the fire. James felt all his hopes at getting Snow and Emma back burn with that hat. He sat by the fire for a long time with tears of desperation running down his cheeks.

What was he going to do now?

He walked towards Regina's house trying to figure out his next move. He had left his truck parked at the police station. He needed to clear his head. Maybe Regina would have another idea. If there was a magical hat that could transport between worlds there had to be other things…didn't there?

He sighed as he walked to the door of Regina's house. He had his own key now so he could let himself in on the nights he had to work late. He hoped she was still up. He really needed to feel her arms around him.

He walked into the large house kicking off his shoes at the door. He called Regina's name quietly not wanting to wake Henry. After looking into the living room and office and not finding her he figured she must be upstairs.

He heard the soft singing when he got to the top of the stairs. He followed the sound to the door of Henry's room.

There was Regina cuddled up to Henry and singing in the sweetest voice he had ever heard. He leaned against the door frame as he listened. He had never heard the song before. He wasn't sure if it was from their land or this one, but the voice singing it was mesmerizing. He leaned his head against the wall closed his eyes and a peace came over him as he listened.

He was snapped out of it when the sound stopped and he heard her moving from Henry's bed. She was in blue silk pajamas with a long sleeve button up shirt and matching pants. He cleared his throat trying to let her know he was there with out startling her. She jumped a little anyways at the unexpected noise. When she turned and spotted him though her startled expression turned into a smile.

"I didn't know you could sing." He whispered stepping back out of the doorway as she walked towards him.

She smiled warmly at him. "It's just one of my many talents." She said giving him a light kiss.

It wasn't until she got into the full light of the hallway that she saw his face clearly. Her heart pounded wondering what it was that could have happened to upset him so badly. "James, what is it?"

He let out a breath. "Do you mind if we talk about it over a drink? I could use one."

She led him downstairs and after fixing him a glass of her apple cider she sat herself next to him on the couch.

He relayed the day to her, everything from finding Billy dead to finding out George had set up Ruby. He ended by telling her of what happened to the hat.

"How could I have let this happen Regina? How could I not have kept it safer? We have lost the only way we had of getting Snow and Emma back!" He drained his glass as Regina watched. She was having a hard time seeing him in so much pain.

"It's not your fault James." she said it gently.

He gave a half laugh and put his head in his hands in defeat. "Of coarse it's my fault. I'm the idiot who left it where he could get to it aren't I?"

Regina said nothing as she picked up his glass from the table and walked to the cider bottle to refill it. She walked it back to him running her fingers through his hair in an effort to comfort him. He looked up at her and took the offered glass thanking her as he did.

He took another sip and set it on the table. He took her by the hips and pulled her to him burying his face into her stomach and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"What am I going to do Regina?"

All she could do was stand there and offer him comfort the way he had done for her after she had been forced to kill Daniel in the stables. She gently stroked his hair as he cried into her stomach. For the second time in one night she found herself wishing she could take away someone's pain. She held him tight as he mourned for the family he may never see again and again felt the regret at being partially to blame. If they hadn't been trying to save her from the wraith this wouldn't have happened. When he had cried all he had left he pulled back shifted her position a bit and pulled her down to sit on his lap where he again pulled her as close as he could and laid his head on her chest. The sound of her heart had an immediate calming affect on him.

"I love you." He said it softly.

She felt tears sting her own eyes as she said "I love you too."

She sighed as she rested her head on the top of his. "Why don't we go on up to bed? You've had a long day and need your rest." he looked up at her as she stroked his hair. "I'll even sing to you if you want." She smiled down at him.

He offered her a small smile and let her lead him up the stairs to the bedroom.

She turned to shut to door and when she turned back he was standing right behind her. He stood in front of her for a moment tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before pulling her up into a hug. He was pulling her up so tightly that her feet were almost off the ground. She held onto him just as tight trying to offer him whatever comfort she could give.

He slowly brought her back down to her feet and took her face into his hands. He brought his lips down to hers in a slow deep kiss that left them both breathless.

He pulled back to look at her face and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I need you Regina." He breathed into her mouth before kissing her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to deepen the kiss.

He pulled his hands back and began to undo the buttons on her pajama top. When he got to the last button he ran his hands up her sides and pushed the shirt off her shoulders pleased to find that she was not wearing a bra underneath. He then pulled the pants down over her hips which left only her lacy purple underwear. He removed those as well and stood back to just look at her.

Normally by this time Regina would have had his clothes off and be pulling him down to the bed, but she understood that this wasn't about lust or heat. He needed closeness and comfort now and she was completely willing to offer it. So she let him take the lead, allowing him to take from her whatever it was he needed.

He pulled his shirt over his head before pulling her back to him and kissing her again. He picked her up putting one arm under her knees and carried her to the bed where he laid her down gently. He laid down beside her and began to caress her body just as he had done that morning. He allowed his hands and mouth to explore every inch of her trailing his lips down her torso and getting closer to where she desperately wanted him to be. She let out a gasp as he passed his tongue over her clit before slipping two fingers inside of her. She could feel herself coming close to the edge and was desperately trying to hold on, but when his tongue increased its pace she could hold on no longer and her body exploded with the orgasm.

James began kissing his way back up her body stopping at her breasts to bring one hardened nipple into his mouth while gently rubbing his thumb over the other. She arched her back into him as she let out a moan. He brought his mouth back to hers for another passionate kiss before climbing off of her to remove his jeans. He brought himself back on top of her positioning himself at her entrance. He slid into her slowly watching her face as he did. She opened her eyes and looked into his as he brought himself into her and felt sure she had never in her life felt this close to another person. He stayed as he was buried deep inside her not yet moving as he continued to stare into her eyes.

"I love you Regina."

Tears stung her eyes as she continued looking into his. "James" she sighed his name.

"Tell me now Regina while I'm inside you. I need to hear you say it now." He kissed away the tear rolling down her cheek.

"I love you." she whispered it.

He brought his mouth down to hers as he began to move inside her until he brought them both to the edge. She opened her eyes to look up at him as she could feel the orgasm building inside her and found his intense blued eyes still on her. Her body began to convulse with the next orgasm and when he felt her go over the edge he allowed himself to go with her.

He collapsed on top of her burying his face in her neck as she pulled him close to her neither wanting to break their connection yet.

He breathed heavily into her neck while she rubbed his back soothingly. She was sure that this was without a doubt the closest she had ever allowed anyone to come to her. She had never even shared this level of intimacy with Daniel.

She was sorry when she felt him withdrawal himself from her but he still didn't move instead he looked down at her and gave her another slow sweet kiss.

"I love you so much" he whispered to her.

He then surprised her by changing positions bringing her to lay on top of him. He shifted her again slightly so he could pull the covers up over both of them but then settled her back on top of him with her head resting on his chest.

She laid there feeling completely content. How was it that when she had been the one offering him comfort she was the one who was comforted?

She snuggled herself into being lulled to sleep by the sound of his heartbeat. Right before drifting off she murmured sleepily. "I love you James."

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**A/N Lot's of sexy times in this one. It seems I have trouble writing a chapter without it. :)**** Please review and let me know what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I am so enjoying writing this story. **

**Up until now I have been filling in the time between events from season 2 but at this point I am going write the actual events (Snow and Emma's return ect.) but just making my own adjustments. So I guess at this point it's going mostly AU. Hopefully you are all happy with it. Thanks for reading!**

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Regina had no idea how she had been talked into this. Putting the man she loved under a sleeping curse. Really? She huffed out a breath as she searched through the ingredients that Gold had in his shop. Of coarse her and James had agreed that they couldn't send Henry back into that room. It was just getting to dangerous, but she hated this plan equally as much.

She heard him walk in but didn't turn around.

James walked up behind her and pulled her back into his arms. Regina closed her eyes against the tears that were trying to form.

"Does he have everything you need?" he asked her as he placed a kiss to her hair.

She sighed. "It looks like it."

"Good." he rested his head against hers.

"James, I don't want you to this! We can think of another way!" She turned to face him as the tears she had successfully held back all day spilled onto her cheeks. "Please."

"Regina, we've talked about this. It's the only way to get word to Snow and Emma about how to defeat Cora. We can't send Henry back in there." He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"What if you get stuck in there. I don't think I could live knowing that I put you in that horrible place and you couldn't get out." she said it softly.

"I won't get stuck in there Regina because you are going to wake me up with true loves kiss." He brought his lips down to hers.

"James we don't know if I will be able to wake you up. You may love me now, but history has proven that Snow White is your true love. What if you can't have more then one in a lifetime? What if I can't wake you up and Snow doesn't make it back? You will be stuck there forever!" She let the last part out with a sob.

"Look, I don't know the rules about how many loves one can have in a lifetime, but what I do know is that I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. Have faith in us Regina." he pulled her into his arms and she rested her head against his chest.

"I just don't want to loose you." she sighed.

He pulled back and took her face into his hands. "You won't." He placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Are you sure you don't want Gold to mix the potion. I don't want you blaming yourself for anything that happens."

She shook her head. "The only way I can make sure it's done right is if I do it myself."

He ran his hands down her arms until he held both of her hands in his. "It's going to be ok." He pulled both of her hands to his mouth and kissed them.

She huffed out a breath. "It better be because if you don't wake up I am going to come in there, find you and kill you in your cursed sleep!"

He gave her a lopsided grin that had her rolling her eyes. "Now get out of here so I can concentrate on what I am doing. If you keep distracting me I might screw something up and turn you into a frog by mistake."

He continued to grin at her. "I'm not worried, I hear true loves kiss will break that curse too."

Ha! As if I would kiss a frog!

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She sat watching him while he slept. They had agreed to keep him under for two hours before she tried to wake him. It was all she could do not to bend over and kiss him now.

Henry sat on the floor leaning back against her legs looking just as worried as she felt. He and James had their moments of trouble over the last couple weeks, mostly because Henry had been so worried about her and was not entirely trusting that James wouldn't hurt her in the end, but for the most part after that day at the police station they had gone back to their easy relationship with one another. She sighed as she ran a hand lightly over Henry's hair.

They didn't speak to each other but just sat in a companionable silence hoping that their plan would work. She was glad she had been able to ease his mind earlier about her using magic. If he was nervous about her using magic and reverting back to her old ways she wanted him to be able to talk to her about it. She was thrilled he had come to her.

She let out a sigh as she looked at the clock again. Had it really only been three minutes since she had looked the last time? She shifted in the chair and took James's hand into her own. She needed to feel the connection, but felt tears burn her eyes when she realized how cold he was.

She thought about her last few moments with him before he had gone under the curse.

_James kept his eyes on Regina over Henry's head. The worried look on her face and tears in her eyes almost had him calling an end to the whole thing. What if something did go wrong? It wasn't the thought of him being stuck in the cursed sleep that had him considering changing his mind (although it wasn't exactly the most pleasant of thoughts) but the thought of her having to face everything that would come from it alone. Not only would she blame herself but James knew the town would blame her as well. He couldn't stand the thought of everyone being against her and him not being around to keep her safe._

_But he had to do this. He had to save Emma and Snow. He couldn't leave them in that world suffering at the hands of Cora._

_When Henry released him from his hug James made his way over to Regina. She hadn't moved. He gently took her face in his hands and kissed her then pulled her to him in a tight hug._

_She let out a breath and whispered "I love you." as she brought her arms around his neck._

_He pulled back looked her in the eyes and told her. "I love you too." he kissed her one more time and gave her a small smile. "I'll see you in a couple of hours."_

_She nodded as Henry had come to stand by her. She placed a hand on his shoulder trying to offer him some comfort as she watched the man she loved fall under the sleeping curse._

"Are you ok?" Henry's voice broke through her thoughts. He had gotten up off the floor and was now facing her.

She smiled at him as she brought her hand up to stroke his cheek. "I am. I'll be even better once James is awake again."

Henry studied her for a moment. "You really love him don't you?"

"I do." she gave him a small smile.

"Then there is nothing to worry about, he will tell Snow how to beat Cora and you will wake him up with true loves kiss. It's gonna work Mom because he loves you too! He told me."

She cocked her head at him. "When did he tell you that?"

Henry shrugged. "A couple days ago."

He was so casual about it Regina had to smile. "And are you ok with that?

"Yeah, I just want you to be happy. I feel bad that Snow will get hurt but I'm glad that you found love again." He gave her a genuine smile. "I'm gonna go grab something to drink. Do you need anything?"

She couldn't help but smile at this wonderful boy that she had been blessed with. "I could use a hug."

Henry grinned and threw his arms around her neck.

"I love you so much Henry." She sighed into his hair.

"I love you too Mom." He pulled back to look at her but kept his hands on her shoulders. "I'm really glad I have you back."

When she just looked at him curiously he continued. "It's just that after I was given the book and realized who everyone was and that you were the Evil Queen I was afraid that maybe it had all been a lie. Not just the curse and everything, but I thought maybe that you didn't really love me that you had just pretended too." Regina felt her heart break at this revelation. "Then when the curse broke and you got your magic back I thought that you would go back to being the Evil Queen and I would loose you for sure. I tried to pretend I didn't care, that having Emma would be enough. I do love Emma, but she could never take your place. I'm just glad that I know now… you're not the Evil Queen at least not anymore, now you're just my mom."

Regina had silently started to cry as Henry shared his feelings with her. She never imagined in all her life that being called "just my mom" would make her so unbelievably happy. Could her life really be so simple? Was it possible that instead of being The Evil Queen or The Mayor she could just be Henry's mom, James's lover? Could she have the simple life filled with love she had always dreamed of?

She cleared her throat so her voice would be clear when she answered him. "Henry, I did a lot of terrible things when I was the Queen and I'm not proud of any of it. My motivations have not always been honorable but the one thing I never want you to question again is how much I love you. The day you were placed in my arms was the happiest day of my life. I didn't know until that moment how much I could love another person. You have brought me nothing but joy and I am so very happy that I have you back too." She pulled him back into her arms and held on to her little boy.

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It was time and Regina was terrified. What if she couldn't wake him up? What if she never got to see his beautiful blue eyes again. She wasn't sure she would be able to make it knowing that he was trapped in that awful sleep forever.

She stood frozen in place as fear and panic had an icy grip on her stomach. She glanced down when she felt a small warm hand slip into her own. Henry gave her a reassuring smile.

"Go ahead mom, he will wake up, I know it!"

She gave a small nod giving him a quick kiss on his head before sitting down on the bed beside James. Her hands shook lightly as she trailed them up his chest and brought them to each side of his face.

She could her Gold's complaining voice in the background "Really Your Majesty, couldn't we just get on with it so we can formulate our plan."

She ignored him as she leaned forward bringing her cheek to rest on James's for a moment and whispered. "I love you." She then brought her lips back up to his in a gentle kiss.

She felt it instantly, the wave of energy that washed over her and made her want to laugh and cry all at the same time. His eyes snapped open just as she heard the sharp intake of breath. She laughed out loud when he looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Hi" it was all he could manage having had his breath taken away by her overwhelming beauty as she laughed down at him.

Regina couldn't stop the happy tears rolling down her cheeks or the wide smile she knew was plastered on her face. "Hi" She said it on a laugh.

James reached for her, pulling her face down to his for another kiss. When they broke apart again he whispered in her ear. "I told you it would work."

She laughed moving back a little as he sat up and pulled her back to him in a tight hug. "I love you so much Regina."

She laughed again holding onto him as tight as she could as she said. "I know."

He chuckled as he pulled back to look at her. He ran his hands into her hair and studied the face he had come to cherish so much wiping off the tears that had continued to roll down her cheeks.

"James?" The small voice reminded them both that they were not alone. Keeping Regina pulled close to him with one hand he moved his other up to ruffle Henry's hair. "Hey Kid."

"It worked!" Henry threw himself at both of them wrapping and arm around each one of their necks! "Mom's kiss woke you up!"

James and Regina both laughed at his enthusiasm as they hugged him back. "Yep, your Mom's a real hero." he said with a grin at Regina.

"I hate to interrupt this touching family reunion, but I do feel it necessary to find out if you were able to relay your message to your precious Snow White." Gold's voice dripped with sarcasm.

James looked up at him from the bed. "Yes. They know about the squid ink and how to use it to defeat Cora."

"Alright." Gold nodded at them. "I think we can count on it taking a day or two for them to get to the cell and be able to make their way back here." Gold hobbled to a cabinet seemingly searching for something. "Now if the three of you would be so kind as to get out of my shop so I might start making plans to bring your family back Mr. Nolan."

Regina rolled her eyes at James as they all got up to leave. They each joined hands with Henry as they walked out of the shop into the night.

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Regina groaned as James collapsed on top of her in exhaustion. They had just finished their third round of love making and she felt sure that all energy had been completely drained from her body.

She now realized that he hadn't been kidding when he had pulled her into his arms once Henry was asleep and told her. _"Just so you know, I plan on making love to you until the sun comes up." _Apparently being under a sleeping curse gave one a tremendous amount of stamina or maybe it wasn't the curse but the magic of true love that flowed through him to wake him. Either way she wasn't complaining. She stretched her arms back and purred like a very satisfied cat.

James grinned into her neck and rolled himself over bringing her to rest on top of him. She brought her hands up on his chest and rested her chin on top of them so she could see his face.

He grinned back at her as her ran his hands over her back. He could not get enough of this woman. "Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?"

She grinned back at him "Not for at least an hour."

He laughed at her answer secretly pleased that she no longer blushed when he told her that. He hoped that meant she was starting to believe him.

"Thank you for waking me up my queen."

"Oh, it was my pleasure my prince." she smiled playfully at him lightly tracing her fingers over his shoulder and along his neck.

"Oh, and thank you for not turning me into a frog." He grinned down at her.

"I wouldn't thank me yet. I still could you know."

He laughed "Hmm, I will have to avoid making you angry for a while."

She chuckled "Probably a good idea."

"I suppose I will also have to make sure to keep you good and satisfied." he grinned as he brought his hands down to squeeze her bottom.

A smile spread across her face as she felt him grow hard again against her stomach. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Again? Really?"

He laughed as he tugged her up his body so he could kiss her. "What can I say? I just can't seem to get enough of you."

She laughed as she brought her mouth to his and wondered if they would always be this happy.

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**As always please review! I love hearing what you all think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Thanks for the reviews! Hope everyone is enjoying so far. I'm getting pretty excited for this Sunday's episode!**

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Regina hummed to herself as she fixed breakfast. She had decided on home made cinnamon rolls this morning and had gotten up extra early to get started. Being in the kitchen always soothed her. It was one of the things in this world that she had truly come to enjoy, and anyone who tried her cooking had to admit she was pretty damn good at it.

Once she had the rolls in the oven she walked to the coffee pot where she poured herself a fresh cup. It was her normal morning routine to sit down with a cup of coffee and read the paper although this morning she was a bit distracted.

Today could be the day that they came back and Regina was terrified. She couldn't help but wonder how things were going to go once Emma and Snow were home. What if James went back to Snow? What if Henry forgot about her as soon as Emma was back. She tried to tell herself she was being ridiculous but anytime in her life she had ever felt this level of happiness it had always been ripped away from her.

She loved James so much more then she had ever thought possible. She always thought that she would never again be able to love someone the way she loved Daniel but here she was. How did this happen? She tried to think back in her mind to the exact moment she fell in love with him but it was all a blur. It had happened so quickly, but strangely enough even though their love was a completely new thing it felt almost as if she had loved him forever. How is that even possible?

Then there was Henry, her son, her sweet little boy that she loved more then life itself. He was her baby. She thought back to the day she adopted him, the day he had become hers. It had been the most wonderful day of her life. She had been so happy and terrified all at the same time. She wanted so much to be a good mother to him. To show him the love she had always been deprived. She stayed up all night just watching him. She had only been able to lay him down for a few minutes at a time before she was picking him back up again and placing soft kisses on his head. She held him close to her, singing and telling him stories all night long.

The thought that she could loose him to Emma had fear clawing its way into her stomach. If she lost Henry her heart would break. It would be like loosing a piece of her soul and she wasn't sure she would be able to survive it.

She was overcome with an overwhelming wave of nausea at the thought. She laid her head down on her arms and took some deep breaths attempting to calm herself.

By the time she heard foot steps on the stairs she had managed to compose herself although she still felt a bit nauseous she had at least managed to squelch most of the panic attack that had tried to take over. She got up to move to the oven to check on her cinnamon rolls as James walked in.

"Something smells amazing!" He walked up behind her and gave her a light kiss on the hair as he wrapped his arms around her. "You're spoiling me with all of your wonderful cooking."

She grinned as she leaned back into him and turned her face up for a kiss. "Well after last night I think you deserve some spoiling."

David grinned back as he kissed her lips. "Mmm I did keep you pretty busy last night. I'm surprised your up so early this morning."

Regina gave a husky laugh "I'm surprised I'm able to walk this morning." she grinned as he laughed out loud.

She bent back over take her rolls out of the oven as he walked to the coffee pot. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He certainly was easy to look at. She could get used to this comfortable routine with him every morning.

"Would you mind to go get Henry up for school?" She asked as she began mixing ingredients for the sticky white icing.

She laughed when James let out a childish "Do I have to?" Henry was notoriously hard to get out of bed and an attempt to wake him usually turned out to be unpleasant for all involved.

She gave him the sweetest smile she had. "Please?"

He rolled his eyes "Ok, but I want this to be recorded as a testament to how much I love you, that I would take my own life into my hands to complete this mission for you."

She batted her eyes "You are so brave my prince. How ever did I make it this long without you?"

He leaned in giving her a firm kiss on her sassy mouth. "I have no idea."

She smiled at him as he walked out. "Tell him I've made cinnamon rolls. It's one of his favorites. It could help a little."

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Regina was jolted awake by the sound of her phone ringing. She looked around confused for a moment before realizing that she was laying on her couch cuddled up against James's chest. After she had come home from dropping Henry off she had found him napping on the couch and had been unable to resist curling up with him.

She reached for her phone that was laying on the end table as James stirred.

"Hello?" her voice was still husky from sleep.

"Hello Ms. Mills? This is Mrs. Thomas the principle at Henry's school."

Regina shot up off the couch waking James in the process. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"Well Ms. Mills, Henry has been in a fight. As per school policy we are going to have to suspend him for 2 days. We have already contacted the other children's parents as well, but we need for you to come and pick Henry up."

"I'll be right there." She hung up the phone as James moved to sit up.

"What's going on?" He asked sleepily.

"Henry was in a fight. I have to go pick him up." she said it quickly as she walked to the door to get her coat.

"I'll come with you." he said as he got up off the couch.

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The ride to the school had been quiet. The longer Regina stewed over it the more fury she felt. It wasn't like Henry to fight. Whatever had happened it had to be this other child's fault! She was furious that some kid would pick on her baby.

By the time they got to the school Regina was seething. James noted that she had on her ruthless Mayor look and felt sorry for whoever ended up on the other side of her rage.

She marched into the school office and immediately spotted Henry sitting in one of the chairs that sat outside the principal's office. He was looking down with his arms crossed.

"Henry" His head snapped up when his mother said his name. That was when she saw the blackened eye and bloodied lip.

"Sweetheart are you ok? What happened? Who did this to you?" She gave him no time to answer any of her questions as she took him gently by the shoulders.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He huffed out pulling himself back from her.

Regina turned to the secretary and said "I would like to talk with Ms. Thomas please."

The secretary buzzed the principal.

"Mom, can't we just go?" Henry whined.

"We most certainly will not go until someone tells me what is going on and why my son has a black eye!" Regina huffed out a breath as she stood up straight.

"Ms Mills, Ms Thomas said to come on in." The secretary called from her desk.

Regina walked into the office closing the door behind her and took the seat opposite the principal.

"Hello Ms Mills" the principal seemed a little nervous 'I'm terribly sorry about all of this but the suspension is after all school policy."

"I'm not in here about the suspension. Mrs. Thomas I would like for someone to please explain to me what happened and who did this to my son!" she was having a hard time keeping her voice down.

"Ms. Mills, perhaps you should speak with Henry…"

"Henry doesn't want to talk about it" Regina interrupted "and I am asking you Mrs. Thomas and you will tell me what happened."

Mrs. Thomas swallowed terrified of making the Evil Queen even more angry then she already was but understanding that the woman was not going to give up until she had her answer.

"Well, Ms. Mills, it's my understanding that the fight was about…well…you." The woman finished quickly.

Regina simply stared at the woman. "What?"

The principal cleared her throat. "Apparently a few boys were teasing Henry about you being…well um…The Evil Queen and Henry defended you. The boys continued on and then the fight broke out."

Regina's look had gone from suppressed fury, to shock to what looked like complete devastation. She only continued to stare at the woman.

"We have already had several talks with these particular students about their behavior towards Henry and their hurtful comments. You can rest assured Ms Mills that their parents were contacted and they have each been suspended for a week. We wouldn't have suspended Henry at all, but he threw the fist punch and we have a no tolerance policy." The woman folded her hands together on the desk.

"Wait" Regina held up a hand. "You have had SEVERAL talks with these boys? This has happened before?"

The principal nodded "Yes, the boys were given detention in the past."

Regina felt fury rise up again. "My son has been being bullied continuously by these children and no one has bothered to TELL ME?"

"We were attempting to handle the situation before parents were brought in." the woman finished not wanting to admit they had been afraid of contacting her.

"Allow me to get something straight with you Mrs. Thomas anytime anything happens that could affect my son negatively I am to be informed immediately. Do you understand?" The woman nodded. "If I ever hear of something like this happening again and I am not informed I can promise you that you will be sorry. Are we clear Mrs. Thomas?"

"Yes Ms Mills, I'm terribly sorry, I…"

"We're done" Regina interrupted holding up a hand as she walked out of the office.

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The drive home had been silent. Neither Henry or Regina had seemed to want to discuss what had happened at the school. All James knew was when Regina had walked out of that office she had looked half furious and half devastated and Henry refused to talk to either one of them.

After they arrived back at Regina's Henry ran upstairs to his room and Regina headed straight to the kitchen. James wasn't sure who he should try to talk to first but felt helpless standing there doing nothing. After hearing a loud crash from the kitchen he decided his better bet a that moment would be Henry.

After knocking gently James pushed Henry's door open to find the boy laying on his bed reading one of his comic books. He ignored James as he walked into the room and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Do you wanna tell me what happened today?" He asked softly.

"Not really." Henry mumbled.

James took the comic book out of his hands so Henry would look at him. "Sometimes talking about it helps."

Henry looked up at James and sighed. "These jerks were saying bad things about mom. They do it all the time and I always stand up for her but today they wouldn't stop. I keep trying to tell them that she has changed but no one wants to hear that. Anyway one of them called her a really bad name so I punched him."

James nodded now understanding why Regina had looked so upset when she walked out of the principals office today.

Henry shook his head as he continued. "I just wish that other people could see what I see. She may have been the Evil Queen once but she isn't anymore. She may not have always been great to everyone in this town but she was always a good mom to me. Why can't people understand that The Evil Queen isn't who she really is?"

James sighed "Sometimes when someone has hurt a person or has done bad things in their past it can be really hard for some people to get past that Henry. I think if we just give people in the town some time they will come to see how great your mom is. Everyone just needs to see her as she is now instead of how she used to be."

"You were able to forgive her." Henry pointed out.

"That's true but that's only because I got to know her. Everyone in this town has not had the opportunity to spend time with her they way we have. Once people get that chance and see how great she is they will come around. I know it." James offered Henry a smile.

"I guess mom's pretty upset about all of this." Henry looked up at him.

James ruffled his hair. "I don't think she's mad at you but more at herself. The last thing in the world your mom would ever want to do is hurt you Henry and I think the idea of you being teased about her past upsets her."

"That's why I didn't want her to know!" Henry huffed. "I knew she would feel guilty and I didn't want her to! She's trying so hard to change and be better."

"I know she is and you know she is. It's going to take a while for everyone in this town to know that too and in the mean time keeping things like this secret from us isn't going to help things. I know you were trying to protect your mom Henry but not telling us what's going on isn't the answer. We both love you and want to help you."

Henry nodded. "I think I'm gonna go talk to mom."

James ruffled his hair as he got up. "I think that's a good idea."

"James?" James stopped just outside the doorway and turned back to Henry.

"Yeah?"

Henry threw his arms around James's waist and looked up at him. "Thanks!"

James smiled as he hugged him back. "You're welcome."

XXXXXXXX

Regina had never been more angry with herself. She had never even thought of the possibility that Henry would have to pay for her past. How could she not have anticipated this? She tried busying her hands with doing the dishes so she didn't end up blowing something up.

She stiffened when she heard foot steps on the stairs. Probably James coming down from talking with Henry. She didn't turn when she heard him come in the kitchen but jolted when it was Henry's voice instead of James's that she heard.

"Mom?"

She turned from the sink to look at her son but couldn't seem to find words. She wanted to tell him she was sorry, that she never wanted him to pay for her mistakes, that she loved him more then anything in this world. At this moment she wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to see her again. None of this was fair to him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what was going on." Henry told her.

Regina only shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about sweetheart." He cleared her throat. "I'm the one who's sorry Henry. I'm sorry that my past is causing you to suffer."

Henry walked around to his mother and wrapped his arms around her waist resting his head on her chest. Regina held on tight as she rested her head on his. They were jolted out of their moment by a loud banging on the door.

James made it to the door first and opened it as Regina and Henry were walking into the room. They were immediately bombarded by Red and the dwarves.

"The fairy dust from the mines is missing!" Ruby barreled into the house. "Some one stole it!"

Regina furrowed her brow. "How much is gone?"

Ruby looked from James to Regina "All of it."

XXXXXXXX

Regina tried to catch her breath after being thrown on the ground. She must have been out of her mind deciding to take all that magic in herself and noting the look of devastation on Henry's face it hadn't worked anyway.

"I'm sorry Henry." She sobbed it as James ran to her to make sure she was ok.

The last several minutes had happened in a blur. After Ruby told them the fairy dust was missing from the mines it hadn't taken long to figure out that it had been Gold who had taken it.

They had then rushed to the well which is where they had figured out the portal to the Enchanted Forest would be. That is where they had found Gold and his magic death trap. He had apparently convinced himself through the night that Cora would somehow defeat Emma and Snow and would be the one to come through the portal instead. He had almost convinced Regina that he was right once they had arrived using the fear he knew she felt for her mother, but hearing James yelling as he had been thrown against a tree and listening to her sons pleas had been to much for her. Against her own better judgment she had walked up to the well and pulled the deadly magic into herself.

She was still on her hands and knees when she heard Henry shout.

"Mom!"

Regina turned to try to offer him some comfort but felt her heart hitch a bit when she realized he hadn't been talking to her. She turned her head just in time to see him launch himself into Emma's arms.

James hadn't seen what was happening at the well because he was to preoccupied with Regina. Watching her bring all that magic into herself had been the most terrifying thing he had ever witnessed. He had been held against the tree by Rumple's magic and had stood helplessly watching as her body had convulsed as she placed her hands over the well. When she had been thrown backwards he had thought the worst. The sound of her sharp intake of breath had been the sweetest sound he had ever heard. He had taken her hand in his pulling her to her feet. That was when he realized what was going on. He looked up at the well and couldn't help the smile that came across his face as he saw them.

He still had Regina's hand and hadn't moved. He stood in shock as he stared at his wife and daughter for the first time since they had gotten sucked into the hat. When Snow looked up from hugging Henry she spotted him.

"Charming!" she ran at him full out. He released Regina's hand as he caught her in his arms. She laughed joyfully as she pulled back and pressed a kiss to his lips.

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**Ok I struggled a little with this chapter so hopefully it wasn't to bad. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks everyone for the reviews and for reading. **

James stepped back gently setting Snow back on her feet. If there had been any question of if he still had love for Snow that kiss had just answered it. Of course there was still some love. They had shared a life together and had a child but the love that was once there had changed into something more of how he would love a friend.

Snow hadn't noticed the change in him and brought her hands up to hold his face. "I don't understand! You were under the sleeping curse! How are you awake now?!"

James felt a small amount of panic she was going to have to be told about his relationship with Regina, but now with all of these people standing around was certainly not the time. He knew Snow was going to be hurt and he didn't want to make it worse by telling her in front of everyone.

He glanced his panicked eyes to Regina who was still breathing heavily and watching them against a tree. She gave him a slight nod understanding that he didn't want her to find out like this. "I put something extra into the sleeping potion so we would be able to wake him."

Snow glanced over noticing Regina for the first time. Her disheveled appearance and heavy breathing had her glancing around where she noticed Gold standing off to the side. "What happened?"

"Mom saved you! She saved both you!" Henry called out proudly from behind her.

He and Emma had been holding onto each other since they got back and when she heard this she looked up at Regina leaning against the tree. "Thank you!"

Regina looked Emma in the eye "You're welcome."

Regina was knocked back into the tree again when Henry plowed himself into her pulling his arms tightly around her waist. "Now you're a hero too! Like me!" He beamed up at her with his arms still wrapped tight.

Henry closed his eyes and rested his head against her chest and whispered "You really have changed."

Emma watched as Regina first beamed at her son and then her eyes filled with tears at his whispered declaration. She smiled a little as she watched Regina close her eyes and rest her head on top of her sons. It appeared things had changed since they had been gone.

Her heart warmed as she watched mother and son hold each other. This was what she had wanted for Henry when she gave him up for adoption all those years ago. A mother that would look at her son the way Regina had just looked at him. All through the last year Emma had wondered if she had made a mistake. Henry and Regina's relationship had not been at it's best then. Then finding out the curse was real and that Regina really was the Evil Queen had been even worse, but even then she knew Henry loved this woman. She was his mom. The love she felt coming from both of them now gave her hope. Hope that maybe Henry's life hadn't been as horrible as he had made it out be (she had very often found herself thinking that he exaggerated things when trying to prove Regina was the Evil Queen.)

Seeing them now gave her hope that maybe all was not lost in their relationship. As much as she couldn't stand Regina she wanted her and Henry to have a relationship. She was his mom and she never wanted Henry to loose that. Not to mention that meeting Regina's crazy mother had gone a long way into giving her some understanding of the former queen.

Maybe they could all start over and try to get along this time. She walked over to where mother and son were standing. She faintly heard Snow questioning James in the background but she wanted to make some kind of gesture to thank Regina.

Regina shifted as she heard Emma approach resting her chin on Henry's head and looking up at her.

Shit Emma thought to herself, I didn't even think about what I was going to say. "So your mom…She's a real piece of work…You know?" she finished lamely.

Regina smiled a little at Emma's attempt to have a civil conversation with her as Henry pulled back to look at both of them.

"Indeed I do." Wanting to do her best to try again with this woman that Henry had come to love so much Regina gave a genuine smile. "Welcome back."

Emma smiled back as Henry wrapped himself around her waist again. "Thanks"

It was then they heard the shouts and victorious woops of the dwarves running towards them. There was complete chaos for several minutes while everyone greeted each other.

Regina stood back against the tree still feeling very shaky and a little sick from the magic she had pulled into herself. She needed to lay down she thought to herself as she attempted to control her body. Her hands were beginning to shake and she felt very dizzy. She vaguely heard someone mention Granny's then blinked as she felt Henry tug on her arm.

"Mom are you coming?" His voice sounded far away. "Mom?" She tried to answer him but couldn't seem to get out any sound. His face was the last she saw as she fell to the ground.

XXXXXXXX

"Regina?" it was James's voice. "Regina?" She opened her eyes to see James looking down at her.

"James?" She saw the relief flood over his face when she said his name. She looked around seeing that she was in the woods. "What…what happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. Can you remember what you were doing before you fainted?"

Regina furrowed her brow and nodded her head slowly. "We just brought Emma and Snow back." She moved to sit up. James put an arm behind her back to help her.

"Mom!" unwilling to be held back any longer Henry tore himself from Emma's arms and ran to Regina. When she looked into his face she saw that he had been crying. "Mom! I was so scared, you just passed out. Are you ok?"

Regina nodded. "I'm ok sweetheart." she put an arm around him as he leaned against her. "Just suffering a little side effect from taking in all that magic." She shifted uncomfortably attempting to fight off another wave of nausea and dizziness. "I just need to go home and lay down."

"No. You're going to the hospital." James said as he bent down to pick her up.

She pushed at his hands. "I most certainly am not. I am going to go home and lay down in my bed."

"Regina I'm kinda with James here" Emma spoke up moving a little closer. "It probably wouldn't hurt to be checked out."

"I told you. It is a side effect of the magic. There is nothing that any doctor can do about that. I will be fine after a little rest." she allowed James to help her up.

"Well at least let one of us take you home." Emma said going to Regina's other side to help James to pull her to her feet.

"I'll do it." James told them. "You all go on to the diner and I will be along shortly."

"I'll come with you." Snow said from behind them.

"That's ok Snow, everyone at the diner is waiting for you and Emma. You guys go on and I will catch up with you once I get Regina settled." James told her.

Snow narrowed her eyes a bit watching James as he put a supporting arm around Regina. Why was he helping her? "Ok, but don't take to long. I missed you." She smiled up at him as she leaned towards him for a kiss.

He smiled a little at her and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I missed you too. You guys go on. I will meet you shortly."

"I'm coming with you guys." Henry stated as he walked to his mom's side taking her hand.

Regina looked down at Henry. "Sweetheart why don't you go on with Emma and Snow. I will be ok."

Henry looked up at her still upset by what had happened. "But you're gonna need someone to take care of you and I'm your hero. It's my job to take care of you if you need it."

Regina put both her hands on Henry's face and smiled. "You are my hero and I appreciate you wanting to take care of me, but really Henry I'm going to be fine. If you come home with me the only thing you will be able to do is watch me sleep. That's doesn't sound like much fun to me. Go have some fun with Emma. You have been waiting all this time for her to come back. Maybe you could even spend the night." She added that part knowing that the way she was feeling there was no way on earth she would feel like entertaining an 11 year old tonight.

Henry eyed her warily. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Regina gave him a wide smile. "Absolutely!"

"Ok." Henry wrapped himself around her waist. "I love you."

"I love you too baby." She kissed him on the head.

"Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." She ruffled his hair.

XXXXXXXX

"That was a convincing performance." James said as he helped her into his truck.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Pasting that smile on your face and pretending you don't feel like crap for Henry's benefit."

"There is no point in having him worry about me. Yes I feel awful now but as soon as this magic leaves my system I will be better." she said as she leaned her head against the seat.

"Well once I get you settled I will call them at that diner and say that I'm not comfortable leaving you alone." he said flatly.

"No."

"Regina, I am not going to leave you alone with the way you are feeling and especially not after you passing out." He reached out and took her hand. "You scared me."

"James you are going to go to that diner and be reunited with your family."

He turned to look at her as he pulled up to the house. "I don't want to leave you alone Regina."

"You don't have a choice James and I'm telling you that I am fine." She still had her head back and her eyes closed. Why wouldn't she look at him?

"Ok, but after I leave the diner Snow and I will go back to the apartment and I will talk to her about us. I will tell her that want to be with you now. I might get back here late but I will come back tonight."

Regina finally sat up and looked him in the eyes. "James I want you to go back to Snow."

If she had told him she was moving to Las Vegas to become a show girl he would have been no less stunned. "What are you talking about Regina? Of course I'm not going back to Snow. I'm in love with you."

"James, I have been thinking about this all day. Every since Henry's incident at the school today. No one in this town is ever going to except me. I will always be the Evil Queen to them and right now Henry is paying a price for that." she fought back the tears that were trying to form in her eyes. She had to get through this. "What do you think people will do if they find out about us? It's going to make everything so much worse. People are going to hate me even more because I came between you and Snow." She took his face in her hands. "If it were just me James I would jump into your arms and let everyone know that I am yours, but it's not just me. It's Henry too and I can't let him suffer anymore for my choices. I'm sorry."

She moved to get out of the car but James took her arm. "Regina, Henry is ok with this. He has given us his blessing."

"I know he has. He gave us his blessing because he loves me and wants me to be happy." She cursed herself when a tear rolled down he cheek. "Don't you understand James? That little boy loves me so much that it doesn't matter to him that people might make fun of him or hurt him. He wants me to be happy even if my happiness hurts him. I can't do this to him. I can't let him get hurt anymore."

She stepped out of the truck fighting hard against the dizziness and nausea she was still feeling.

"Regina wait!" He was out of the truck and took her by the arm again turning her to face him. "I know how things look now, but people are going to come around, just like I did. Remember how we used to hate each other? Look at us now Regina! People will see the real you and this will all blow over. It's just going to take some time."

She smiled sadly at him through the tears that were now falling down her face. "I'm sorry James. I'm not going to continue this. I have to think of my son now and do what best for him." She leaned in giving him light kiss before turning to walk away. She put her key in the door and pushed it open.

His voice was soft when he spoke again. "Regina please don't do this. I love you."

She closed her eyes as more tears fell. "It's already done. Go back to your wife."

XXXXXXXX

Emma pondered the events of the evening as she drove her yellow bug towards Regina's house. Henry had insisted they go by and check on his mom before going back to the apartment. She had agreed because they needed to get clothes for him anyway and if she was honest she wanted to check on the woman herself. She had not looked well when they had left her for the diner. When James had arrived later he had looked defeated. He tried to act cheerful and keep up with the conversation but something was on his mind. She couldn't be sure if he was worried about the former mayor or if it was something more.

She hadn't missed the way he had rushed to her side when she fainted or the look of complete panic that had come over his face. She also noticed the way he wrapped his arm around her while helping her to the car. Of course she knew he was supporting her because she had been so weak, but Emma thought the gesture had looked almost…comfortable. She was probably just reading something into it that wasn't there but she was having a hard time understanding why he was being so nice to a woman he supposedly hated.

Henry was anxious to see his mom. He just wanted to see for himself that she was ok. She had been so pale earlier. He had never seen her like that before and the sight had scared him.

Over dinner he had told Emma about some of the stuff that had happened since she had been gone and had excitedly told her about all the things his mom had done to change. He had gone on and on about all the fun they had had together and Emma had really smiled glad to hear that their relationship had improved.

He had also been excited his mom had encouraged him to spend time with Emma. Maybe this meant things would get better between them.

He was very careful not to mention anything about his mom and James though. He knew that Snow White should be the first to know about it so he didn't want to blurt something out by accident before she found out.

He jumped out of the car as soon as Emma had pulled up to the curb and ran to the door. He ran all through downstairs looking for Regina as Emma walked in.

"She might already be upstairs asleep kid. Lets go on up and get your stuff and we'll check in on her before we leave." She said as Henry headed up the stairs.

After they had packed a bag for him they made their way to Regina's room. Henry cracked the door open a little expecting to find his mom laying on the bed but she wasn't there. That was when they heard the unmistakable sound of retching coming from the bathroom.

"Mom?!" Henry ran to the door. "Mom are you ok?"

"Henry?" they heard from the other side. "Henry what are you…" then the sound of more retching.

Henry pushed the door open running to his mother's side as she heaved. When Regina finally caught her breath again she turned to him. "You are supposed to be staying the night with Emma."

"We decided to stop by here to get my stuff." He told her as he rubbed her back.

"He also wanted to check on you." Emma said from the doorway trying to contain her smile at Henry mothering his mother.

Regina cursed herself for allowing Emma to see her in such a position. "Thank you sweetheart but I told you I'm fine. This just has to run it's course now." she said as she attempted to pick herself up off the floor.

Feeling a little guilty that Regina was going through all this because she had saved their lives Emma moved from the door to Regina's side helping the still shaky woman to her feet. "Henry why don't you run downstairs and see if you can find some Ginger-ale or Sprite and some crackers to help settle your mom's stomach."

All to eager to help Henry nodded his head and took off downstairs.

Regina tried to pull away from Emma, but when another wave of dizziness hit her she had to lean on her for support. Emma started to lead her out of the room but Regina asked to be taken to the sink first where she leaned heavily against the it as she brushed her teeth. After words Emma helped the weak woman into her bedroom.

As Regina sat down on the bed she looked at Emma. "Thank you Ms. Swan."

"Seeing as how you have spent most of your evening retching your guts out due to saving my life I think you have earned the right to call me Emma."

Regina's lips turned up at the corners. "Thank you Emma."

Henry came back into the room with a large glass of Sprite and crackers in his hands as he shoved them towards his mother. "Here mom, this will help you feel better."

"Thank you sweetheart." Regina smiled at him as she took a drink then forced herself to bite into the cracker he offered her.

"I guess that magic you took in was pretty bad." Henry said as he sat next to her on the bed.

"Yes and there was a lot of it. I really will be fine Henry as soon as it runs through my system I promise." She set down her sprite. "Now I think I am going to lay down and try to get some sleep." she leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"I'm gonna stay with you."

"Henry I told you it isn't necessary. Go on with Emma and have some fun."

"Just until you fall asleep. Like you do for me when I don't feel good." He smiled up at her.

She huffed out a breath and looked at Emma who simply shrugged. "I'll just wait downstairs for you Henry. Good night Regina, thanks for saving us today."

Regina looked back at her little boy and gave an exasperated sigh. "You must get you complete stubbornness from her."

He shook his head. "Nope. Pretty sure I get that from you." He grinned at her.

She laughed as she laid down in bed. "I love you mom" Henry said as he laid down beside her.

"I love you too Henry."

XXXXXXXX

After about half an hour Emma walked back upstairs to check on Henry. She found him laying with his arm around Regina fast asleep. Emma smiled a little as she turned from the door. She thought about just leaving. She knew Henry would be fine with Regina, but she was still a little worried about her. If what Henry said was true and she took in as much magic as he said Emma worried if the side effects might get worse. She didn't want Henry to be alone with Regina if she got sicker. She made her way downstairs and decided she was going to sleep on the couch tonight. Regina might be royally pissed in the morning, but she could get over it. Emma smirked a little at the thought of rattling the former mayor once again. It was after all one of her favorite hobbies.

XXXXXXXX

James walked into the apartment behind Snow still going over his conversation with Regina in his head. He had to talk her out of this. He didn't want to go through this life without her in it.

"Charming!" James snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Snow. "Have you even heard a word I've said?"

He let out a breath. "I'm sorry Snow. It's just been a really long day. I'm pretty tired."

She moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. "Well then maybe we should go to bed." She grinned up at him.

James was relieved when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and saw it was Regina. He felt relief flood over him hoping that she had changed her mind.

"Hello? Regina?"

"No James it's Emma."

"Emma why are you calling from Regina's phone?"

"Well I lost mine in Fairy Tale Land and Henry and I stopped by to pick up some things. Regina was sick in the bathroom. Henry was pretty worried about her and wanted to stay till she fell asleep, but then he fell asleep too."

"Wait she's still sick? Emma does she need to go to the hospital?"

"She's acting a little better and she's asleep now, but I think it's best Henry fell asleep. It wouldn't be bad for someone to be here just in case she needs something. I'm sure she will be pissed as hell to find me here in the morning but that's just a side benefit." Emma chuckled.

"Umm Ok. You're sure she's alright?"

"Yeah she seems better now."

"Ok, I'll talk to you tomorrow then."

He hung up the phone and felt despair come over him. He wanted to be the one to be there helping her. He considered going anyway knowing she wouldn't want to see him. He huffed out a breath feeling completely useless and wanting nothing more then to take the woman he loved into his arms hold her all night long.

"What was that about?' Snow's voice interrupted his thoughts again.

"Umm Regina is still sick from taking in all that magic and Emma and Henry are going to stay there tonight just in case she needs something."

"Do you really think that's a good idea. What if she does something to them?" She asked worriedly.

James huffed out a breath "She isn't going to do anything Snow, she's sick and she would never do anything to hurt Henry." as a matter of fact she would give up her own happiness to spare him pain he thought to himself.

"Ok well if you're sure…"

"I am" He said flatly.

"Well I guess the good news is we have the place to ourselves." She smiled as she moved in to kiss him.

James put his hands on her arms to stop her as she looked at him with confusion. "Snow, I'm sorry but I can't do this."

"What do you mean? Charming, we have been apart for 28 years! Don't you want to…"

"Exactly!" he interrupted her. "28 years Snow. That's a long time to just pick up where we left off."

She stepped back and tears formed in her eyes.

"Snow" He let out a breath. "Damn it Snow, I'm sorry." He felt terrible he didn't want to hurt her. It certainly wasn't her fault he had fallen in love with another woman while she was gone. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Snow, but I can't do this right now. I just need a little time ok?"

Snow took a breath. "Ok if that's what you want." She continued to look at him with a mix of hurt and confusion in her eyes.

"It's what I need right now. I will call you tomorrow ok. After I get my thoughts straight."

"Where are you going?" she asked when he turned around.

"I'm gonna stay at Granny's tonight." he told her reaching for the door.

"Charming?" he turned back to look at her. "I love you."

He cleared his throat and looked at her sadly. "I love you too Snow." Just not the way you want me to he thought as he walked out of the apartment.

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**I feel a little bad writing so much unhappiness and angst after last nights episode and all my sad feels for Regina, but I had already decided to go in this direction for this story. I had to add in lots of Henry love though. I just needed it after Sunday's episode. Please let me know what you think.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for the review on the last chapter. This one is a little longer then normal but there was a lot I wanted to get in.**

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Regina moaned as she rolled over in bed. She opened her eyes slowly as she felt her stomach roll again. She felt as if she had spent a night binge drinking and had the hangover from hell going on this morning. She rolled out of bed pleased that she didn't nearly fall over from dizziness as she got to her feet. At least that little side effect had passed. She made her way to the bathroom where she splashed some cold water on her face trying to snap herself out of this funk.

She made her way downstairs and heard voices when she was half way down. When she walked into the kitchen she was shocked to find Emma and Henry cooking up breakfast and having made a huge mess while doing so.

She huffed out an irritated breath. "Ms. Swan making yourself at home I see." She scowled at her as she surveyed the mess in her kitchen.

Her look softened though as Henry rounded the counter and hugged her around her waist. "Mom are you feeling better?"

She looked down at him as she ran a hand through his hair. "Yes sweetheart I am. Thank you for taking care of me last night."

He beamed up at her. "No problem. It's what heroes do."

He walked back over to help Emma who was pouring pancake batter into a skillet. She glanced up at Regina. "Hungry?"

Regina felt her stomach roll again. "Maybe just some toast." She started to move toward the cabinet to get the bread but Emma waved her away.

"Go sit down. We've got it."

Regina scowled at the woman again. "Ms. Swan I am perfectly capable of fixing my own toast!"

Emma did her best to suppress a grin but didn't quite succeed. She was glad she seemed to be getting back to herself again. "I have no doubt that you can Madame Mayor, but all the same Henry and I are making breakfast. We will take care of it and I told you to call me Emma."

"I will call you Emma when you stop calling me Madame Mayor. I'm not the mayor of this godforsaken town anymore. You call me Regina!" She snapped as she walked to take a seat at the kitchen island.

Emma nodded. "Deal." She turned to Henry "Is she always this grouchy in the mornings?"

Henry shook his head "No, normally she's an annoying morning person."

Emma snorted as Regina tried to suppress a grin. "Thank you my darling son for that lovely defense of me."

Henry smiled. "Hey I'm just speaking the truth."

"Regina do you want any jelly on your toast or anything?" Emma asked as she pulled the two slices of toast out of the toaster.

Regina looked up from her hands a moment, she really wished her head would stop pounding. "Maybe just a little bit of grape please."

Emma took the jelly from the refrigerator and spread it over the toast. Regina looked up as she set the toast down and was grateful for the Tylenol that she had set down as well. "Thank you."

Emma nodded. "No problem."

Regina surveyed Emma and recognized the outfit she was wearing as her own. "You just can't seem to get enough of my wardrobe can you Emma?

Emma glanced down at the black dress pants and purple blouse that Henry had picked out for her. "Don't kid yourself Regina, your clothing is definitely not my style, however I did sleep here last night and the clothes I was wearing yesterday really needed to be burned after my adventures in Fairy Tale Land. The least you can do is let me borrow an outfit!"

"I don't recall asking you to stay here last night, as a matter of fact I seem to remember trying to get you to leave."

"I stayed because you were sick and Henry was worried about you!" What had started as playful banter began getting heated.

"I was only sick because I went temporarily insane and saved your life yesterday!" Regina looked her straight in the eye.

"Who asked you to do me any favors?" Emma started to speak.

"ENOUGH!" Henry shouted over the both of them. "Mom, Emma stayed last night because I wanted to. I was worried and wanted to make sure you were ok and even though she will never admit it I think she wanted to be sure you were alright too"

Emma started to smirk at Henry's defense of her but it didn't last long as he turned on her. "Emma, mom saved your life because I asked her too and honestly whether she will admit it or not I'm pretty sure she didn't want you to die either."

He looked at both of them exasperated. "Ok?"

They both looked at him like children getting lectured for their bad behavior and nodded.

He looked back and forth at both of them. "Now do you think it is possible for the two of you to get along through breakfast? It will be 30 minutes tops!"

Regina looked up at Emma, "Emma, I'm sorry, it was nice of you to stay last night, and thank you for breakfast this morning. I am already feeling much better."

Emma huffed a bit that Regina was the first to apologize but continued to look at the other woman. "You're welcome, and I really do appreciate what you did for me and Snow yesterday. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Henry smiled sarcastically at both of them "See I knew you could do it."

XXXXXXXX

Henry decided to spend the day at Regina's since Emma wanted to catch up at the police station. It was a Saturday so he had the whole day to himself. He had played video games for a while that morning but had started to get bored.

He went downstairs in search of his mother hoping that she may have a suggestion of something for him to do. She acted like she was feeling much better from last night. Maybe they could go somewhere. He found her on the couch in the living room reading.

He walked over and sat next to her on the couch and then just looked at her with somewhat of a puppy dog look on his face. Regina knew her son's tactics well and tried to suppress the smile that wanted to tug on her lips. She was thankful for the distraction. She had tried so hard to concentrate on the book in her hands but had been unable to stop thinking about James. She missed him desperately.

She finally lowered the book and looked directly into her sons puppy dog eyes and had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm booooooooored!" He gave his best whine.

Regina could fight the urge to laugh no longer and chuckled as she set the book aside. "I'm sorry, I could give you some chores to do. That would keep you entertained."

Henry rolled his eyes a bit and snuggled up against his mother's side glancing up at her from under his lashes and pouting out his lip a little. "Couldn't we go do something? Maybe go to the arcade?"

"I suppose getting out of the house for a while isn't a bad idea. Why not?" she gave him a grin.

"Yes!" he jumped off the couch "I'm gonna go get my shoes."

"Hold it!" She called from the couch. Henry stopped in his tracks and turned back to her.

She tapped her cheek as she said "Affection please."

He grinned as he ran back over and threw his arms around her neck then gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek.

"Much better" she chuckled as he took off. She got up to go and find her own shoes as he came barreling down the stairs again with his own in his hands.

He plopped down on the floor putting them on his feet. "Maybe we could go by Granny's after and get some hot chocolate."

Regina couldn't help but smile at him. "Maybe."

XXXXXXXX

It had been a shitty day for James. He had gotten no sleep the night before because all he had been able to do was think about Regina and how much he missed having her in his arms. What he wouldn't give to be kissing her right now, to have her walk into the station like she had done a week ago and seduce him into making love on his desk.

He had bombarded Emma with questions when she came in about Regina and whether or not she was ok. Then he had to field some of his own when Emma asked about Snow and he had told her he stayed at Granny's the night before. He had tried giving her the same explanation he had given Snow about him needing time after 28 years of separation but Emma didn't seem to buy it the same way Snow had.

He was currently sitting across from her at Granny's picking at his food. She had been rambling about The Enchanted Forest and he had tuned her out but immediately tuned back in when he realized she had said something about being at Regina's that morning.

"and for the life of me I can't figure out how in the world that woman can be completely nice and polite and still be a total bitch all at the same time." she finished.

His mind was trying hard to catch up. What had he missed? Had she said anything about how she was?

"James, what is going on with you? You have been totally out of it all day."

"Sorry, I'm just tired. It's been a long couple of days and I didn't really sleep last night." he dropped his face into his hands.

"Well, why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep? I can handle things at the station for the rest of the day."

He looked up at her and gave her a sad smile "I won't be able to sleep now either. To much going on in my head." he threw his napkin on his plate as he pulled out his wallet to pay the bill Ruby had left on their table. He tossed down some money and looked back up at her. "You ready?"

Emma nodded and got up out of the booth.

He looked up when the door chimed and saw Regina standing there with her hand on Henry's shoulder. She gave them both a tight smile.

"Hello again Emma" she nodded her head at him "James."

James feared his heart just might give out on him right then it was pounding so hard. He was glad for the distraction when Henry threw his arms around his waist.

"Hey kid." he hugged Henry back and ruffled his hair.

Henry turned to Emma, "Emma! Check out what mom got me!" He pulled her aside to show her his new comic book leaving James and Regina staring at each other.

James wanted so badly to pull her into his arms. "Are you feeling better?"

Regina swallowed. "Yes much. Henry made sure to take good care of me last night." She gave him a small smile.

He wanted to touch her, to kiss her. "I wanted to be there taking care of you."

"James we talked about this. It's for the best." she sighed.

"How can it be for the best Regina when I love you. You're all I can think about. I can't eat I can't sleep, all I want to do is pull you into my arms and never let you go." he said it quietly.

Regina felt like her heart was being ripped in two. "James just give it some time. You will get over me and fall back in love with your wife."

James shook his head. "That's not going to happen Regina."

She shook her head and chose to ignore the last statement. "I have a few of your things at my house. I will send them with Henry the next time he comes to visit you and Snow. You can always use the excuse that you stayed in the guest room a few nights when Henry was trying to contact them in his dream."

"I'm not staying with Snow."

Regina's head snapped up and she felt her heart quicken. Even though she was insisting this is the way it needed to be she hated the idea of him living with Snow. "I…where are you staying?"

"Here." he gestured to the door that lead to the stairs.

She cleared her throat. "I will have them sent here then." She walked past him but stopped when he brushed her hand.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered. "I love you."

She wanted to turn and jump into his arms, she wanted to press a kiss to his lips, take him home and make love to him. She wanted him to hold her for the rest of her life, but she steeled herself and walked to a booth in the corner. Once out of earshot she whispered "I love you too."

Emma and Henry had finished their conversation and had turned to go when they noticed the exchange between James and Regina. They had both looked on curiously. Neither could hear what was being said but it was clear the conversation was tense. When Regina walked away to sit in the corner booth James had looked heartbroken. He walked out of the diner forgetting Emma was even there.

"Wonder what that was about?" Emma pondered out loud as Henry cast his eyes downward. She eyed him suspiciously. "You know something kid…What is it?"

Henry shook his head. He wasn't gonna be the one to spill the secret. "You'll have to talk to Gramps."

Emma followed Henry to the booth Regina sat in. There was something she needed to do anyway. Regina's back had been to her but when she saw her face she saw what looked like an equally heartbroken look. It made her more determined to find out what in the hell was going on, but she knew there was no way Regina would be the one to cave. No, she was going to go back to the police station and drill her father.

She decided to stick to her plan in extending an olive branch to Regina.

"Listen, some of the towns people want to throw a welcome back party for Snow and I tonight. It's kind of a pitch in type deal. I was just wondering if you might like to come?

Regina was surprised. "Thank you for inviting me Emma but I'm not really sure…"

"Oh come on mom! It will be fun! Maybe you could make lasagna!" Henry looked so excited at the idea that Regina couldn't say no.

She smiled gratefully at Emma, "Maybe I will come for a little while."

"Great!" Emma smiled back at her. "I'll see you tonight then."

Regina nodded as Henry shouted out "See ya later Emma!"

He turned back to his mother who was still sitting in shock that she had been invited to…well anything. He figured now was a good time to question her. He could always get more information from her if her took her by surprise. "So when is James going to move in with you?"

Regina blinked and looked at her son in confusion. "What?"

"Well I just figured that it would happen soon, I mean you two love each other. When is he going to tell Snow and Emma about you so you can be together?"

Regina let out a breath. She should have expected this but so far had not been able to see past her heartbreak at not being with the man she loved. "Henry" she reached over to take his hand in hers. "James and I aren't going to be together."

"But you two love each other."

She huffed out a breath. "It's not that simple Henry."

"Of course it's simple! You woke him up with true loves kiss mom, that means that you should be together! You do love him right?"

"I…Yes I do." She admitted. "But you have to remember that I am not the only one that he has shared true loves kiss with."

Henry felt his face heating up in anger "So he left you for Snow White?"

"No, well yes, I told him that he needs to try again with Snow." she finished

"Why would you do that mom?" Henry asked "You love him." he looked down sadly.

"There's more to it then just love Henry. It's just the way things have to be." she told him.

XXXXXXXX

Emma walked up to James's desk at the police station and stood in front of him. He had seen this coming and didn't look up from his paperwork.

Emma stood as long as she could simply staring at him until she finally could take it no longer. She bent over and snatched the pen out of his hand.

He looked up at her. "If you needed a pen all you need to do was ask."

"Do you wanna tell me what in the hell has been going on in this town since I was gone?"

James tried to feign ignorance. "What do you mean?"

"I mean with you and Regina. Do you not think that I saw the way you reacted when she passed out yesterday? You were almost completely panicked. That is not the way a person acts when their mortal enemy passes out. Then when I talked to you last night and this morning the only thing you were interested in hearing is whether or not Regina is ok."

James cleared his throat. "Regina and I spent a lot of time together while you were gone. She helped me get you back. I had Henry with me and he wanted to be with his mom so yeah…I got to know her and I was worried about her.

"Then maybe you can explain to me the complete look of devastation that came over both of your faces after your conversation in the diner today. Or maybe you can tell me why you aren't living with your wife who is supposed to be your true love. I know I'm new to this whole family thing but I would like some honest answers from my father about what is going on."

James let out a breath as he looked at his daughter. If her lied to her she would know it, and the truth was he didn't want to lie to her. So her told everything, from what happened with Regina's fiancé to her waking him with true loves kiss.

Emma had sat in the chair across from his as he had relayed his story to her and sat back when he had gone silent. "So your telling me that you fell in love…with Regina?"

James pinched the bridge of his nose "That's what I'm telling you."

"With Regina, James…Regina?" Emma was trying to get the point across to him. "The same woman who cursed you here for 28 years. The same woman who tried to kill you several times? That Regina?"

James sighed. "That's just it Emma, she isn't that person anymore. Look I don't know how it happened but she's different now. I think a big part of it is that Henry has changed her. He's made her want to be a better person. When I started spending time with her I saw the woman she truly is and I couldn't help but fall in love with her." He gave a small smile "She's amazing."

Emma studied him for a minute. It was true that even in the short time she had been back she could tell a difference in Regina. The woman did seem to be trying to make amends to her. "So if you are so in love with her then why aren't you with her? Do you still want to try and work things out with Snow?"

"That's just it. I wanted to tell Snow about it last night but Regina refuses. She has decided it's best for us to not be together." he breathed out.

"Best for who?" Emma wondered out loud.

"Henry." James answered. At Emma's inquisitive look her told her about what had happened at the school and what Regina had said to him when she broke things off.

Emma puffed out a breath. She had already heard a small version of the fight story from Henry when she had asked him about his bruised face but he hadn't told her what it had been about. "So she is giving up her own happiness because she doesn't want Henry to suffer anymore."

James gave her a sad smile. "She loves that little boy more then anything in the world. She would do anything for him."

It's what a mother would do Emma thought as tears formed in her eyes. She may hate this situation and what it was going to do to her own mother, but she couldn't be angry with Regina. Not when she was willing to give up everything for the son they both loved.

"I don't know what to tell you James, but I do know that Snow deserves the truth. It isn't fair for her to go on having hope for the two of you to be together if there is none."

"I know" James sighed. "I don't want to hurt her."

Emma looked him in the eye. "It's going to hurt her, there's no way around that."

"I'm sorry Emma."

"Don't apologize to me" She shifted in her chair. "The truth is that I get it. I hate it, but I get it. You hadn't been with Snow for a really long time. Long enough for any love to fade. It's just if you were gonna fall in love with someone else the least you could have done was found someone other then her enemy to fall in love with." She rolled her eyes at him trying to lighten the mood a little. "So what are you gonna do now."

"Talk to Snow after the party tonight." He contemplated "Then find some way to get Regina to take me back."

XXXXXXXX

Henry stood on the other side of the door a the sheriff's station trying to process all he had just heard. So this is what his mom hadn't wanted to tell him when he questioned her at the diner. After he had been unable to pry the answers out of her that he wanted he had decided to try his luck on James. He had asked his mom to drop him at the sheriff's office telling her he had something he wanted to discuss with Emma that was a surprise. When he had walked in and heard Emma and James talking though he was pleased to find out he wouldn't have to work very hard to get his answers.

She left James because she wanted to protect him. Henry felt an overwhelming surge of love for his mother and there was a small amount of guilt as well. He still felt guilty about the way he had treated her when he was trying to prove she was The Evil Queen.

He couldn't let this happen. His mom had always lost the people she loved. He was not going to let her give up being happy with James to protect him. Without making his presence known he snuck back out of the station. He sighed as he walked down the street. There had to be some way to change his mom's mind.

XXXXXXXX

Regina had been late to the party. The reaction to her being there was mostly shock and perhaps a little fear. She rolled her eyes at Leroy's back after he had asked her if she poisoned the lasagna. As if she would be feeding it to her son if she had.

She continued to serve it to people who came through the line as she and Henry talked about their day. When she looked up at the next person she was handing a plate to her smile faltered a bit she found herself looking into James's intense blue eyes.

He had a pleasant smile on his face and never took his eyes off hers. "Your lasagna, my favorite."

She blushed a little remembering the first time she had ever made it for him. It seemed like ages ago. "I hope you enjoy." she plastered a smile on her face.

He leaned in a little catching a whiff of her intoxicating scent. God he missed her. "You look beautiful tonight." He said before walking off leaving her flustered.

She looked back to Henry who was watching her carefully. "I still think you and James should try to work it out." he told her.

"Henry we talked about this earlier, we are just trying to do what's best."

"I know" he sighed "But I was really getting used to having him around. I like having him around. It felt like we were all…I mean like the three of us were a family."

Regina blinked in surprise at his statement but before she could say anything else he got up. "I'm gonna go talk to Archie for a sec."

Regina stared after her son wondering about his last statement. Had he really started to look at the three of them that way? She sighed as she walked over to a booth and sat down. She was going to have to talk to him again later.

XXXXXXXX

James hadn't taken his eyes off Regina all night. He couldn't seem to look away from her. She had looked so lost and sad sitting by herself at the corner booth. He had just about made up his mind to go talk to her when she got up to leave. He wanted to follow her but stopped himself when he saw Emma follow her out. He sat back down feeling helpless.

Snow had watched James all night. She saw the way he had leaned in a whispered to Regina when she served him his food. She also saw the way he spent the entire night watching her. She saw his head snap up when the outside door opened and Emma walk back in. She couldn't take it anymore. She was going to find out just what was going on with her husband.

She walked over to him, took him by the hand and whispered "We need to talk." pulling him by the hand out the diner door.

Once outside she turned to face him. "James what is going on? It's obvious that you have been avoiding me. I want you to tell me why."

James knew he was going to have to tell her. "Snow I don't know where to start. Every since the curse broke it's been hard for me to sort out my feelings about things. Really, it's more like every since I woke up from that coma. All I know is that I no longer feel the same as I did before…about a lot of things."

Snow looked at him seriously. "Including Regina?" When his head snapped up at that she knew she was right. She had been thinking about this all night. "James how did you wake up from that sleeping curse?"

He took a deep breath. "Regina woke me up."

"How?"

"Snow…"

"Tell me how James!" she raised her voice a bit.

He sighed. "She kissed me." he met her eyes again and hated himself for the hurt he saw there.

Snow's eyes filled with tears and she said softly. "You've fallen in love with her."

"Yes." There was nothing more he could say.

"How…how could you fall in love with her James? HER?! After everything she's done! She's tried to kill us over and over again. She CURSED us! She is the reason we were separated from our daughter her whole life! How can you just throw all of that aside and fall in love with her?" She couldn't stop the tears now as they flowed down her face. "You realize that even this is some trick she has probably designed to keep us apart? She's probably at home laughing right now because she has succeeded in taking you from me!"

"It's not a trick Snow, she…"

"Don't you DARE defend her to me! I know what she is! She is an evil witch who would do anything to take away my happiness! Do you really think you KNOW her?! You're a fool Charming!" She was yelling now unaware of the audience that had gathered around the diner door.

James had gotten angry as well and wanted to make it perfectly clear that this had not been some scheme of Regina's. "Do you want to know how I now this isn't a trick?! Do you?! I know because she left me! When you came back she left me and told me to go back to you! She is giving up her own happiness because she wants to protect her son from the taunting he may get in this town when people find out about us! You can trust me when I tell you Snow that if I had a choice in the matter I would be with her now!"

"Well, then I guess that's where you should be." She said quietly turning to walk away.

James kicked himself for loosing his temper. "Snow, I'm sorry." She turned her head to look at him. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

Another tear fell down her face "But it did." she said sadly walking away.

James stood watching her as she walked towards her apartment.

He needed to think. He turned back towards the diner as everyone inside turned quickly from the window trying to pretend they hadn't just witnessed what had happened. He walked in and made his way to the stairs at the back of the diner that led to his room. Everyone was working hard to busy themselves trying not to make it obvious they were all watching him.

He stopped in his tracks knowing that people were going to talk the minute that he got upstairs. He turned back around and faced everyone who had all stopped to see what he was going to do.

"In case anyone missed that I am in love with Regina Mills!" he looked around at every face in the room. "If anyone has a problem with that you are certainly welcome to bring that problem to me, but I want everyone of you to know that Regina is to be treated with nothing but kindness and respect. Even if you hate her, even if you blame her. I am the one who fell in love with her. I am the one who hurt my wife. Not Regina. So you blame me! I'm the asshole here." at that he turned and made his way up to his room.

XXXXXXXX

James didn't know how he had made such a complete and total mess of things but he did know that Regina was going to kill him. The whole reason she had broken things off with him was because she hadn't wanted Henry to be hurt by the towns reaction and now everyone knew anyway. Then there was Snow. She had found out in the worst possible way. Why hadn't he taken her to a private place?

He dropped his face into his hands, what he wouldn't give for a hug from the woman he loved right now.

He groaned at the knock on the door. Couldn't everyone just leave him in peace.

He pulled open the door to find Henry holding a huge bouquet of Stargazer Lilies. Henry smiled up at him as he walked into the room.

"Henry, what are you doing? Why do you have a huge bouquet of flowers?"

"I got Moe to open the flower shop, it took some pleading but I can be pretty convincing when I want to be." Henry gave a lopsided grin.

When James just continued to stare in confusion Henry continued "They're mom's favorite" he explained shoving them towards James. "I was thinking you could take them to her when you go over there to try to win her back."

James stared dumbly at the bouquet of flowers in his hands. "Henry, your mom doesn't want to come back to me, believe me I've tried and now that I have made a mess of this whole situation it's going to be even harder."

Henry plopped down on the bed and shook his head. "Of course she wants you back! She loves you and they way I see it now her reasons for dumping you don't matter anymore. The whole town knows about you. So there's no point in you being apart." her rationalized. "Besides, I want you to get back together so we can get back to being a family. Like we have been for the last few weeks."

"Wait your mom told you why she broke things off with me?"

Henry shook his head. "No, I overheard you and Emma talking at the police station. Mom shouldn't worry, eventually all of this will calm down and people will have something else to talk about."

James shook his head at him. Sometimes this kid could be so grown up.

Henry grinned up at him "So, are you gonna go get my mom back or what?"

XXXXXXXX

**A/N Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review and tell me what you think. I have started on a new Evil/Charming fic that is pretty much going to be completely AU. Should be posting it in another few days! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N thank all of you for the awesome reviews. I love reading what you all think. I have been able to do a lot of writing this week as I injured my foot Sunday and have been ordered to stay off of it for a few days to keep the swelling down. Since I have nothing else to do I have been writing! Hope you enjoy!**

XXXXXXXX

Regina sat back against the couch and sighed. It had been an unbelievably long day and she was completely exhausted. She closed her eyes as she laid her head on the back of the couch.

When she had come home she had gone upstairs to put on her pajama's and come back downstairs with the vague idea of fixing herself a drink but instead had collapsed on the couch in a heap and now was contemplating if she really wanted to stand up and walk all the way to the cider bottle to pour some.

She laughed lightly at her own laziness. She thought back on the day. The two times she had seen James and what he said to her. He loved her. She missed him so much that the ache in her chest made it hard to breathe. Henry had said he wanted them to be a family. That statement from him had nearly shattered her heart.

Had she made the right choice pushing James from her life?

She let out a loud groan at the sound of the doorbell. Couldn't she just wallow uninterrupted in her misery by herself for one evening?

The scowl she had fixed on her face to greet whoever it was that was on the other side turned to a look of surprise when she saw James standing there holding the biggest bouquet of stargazer lilies she had ever seen. He had a sheepish smile on his face and her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him.

"I know it's late and I know you don't want to see me but I need to see you Regina. I need to talk to you." he stood there hopefully as she just continued to stare at him.

Don't want to see you? she thought I want to throw myself into your arms and never let you go. She cleared her throat. "Come in."

He let out a breath of relief that at least he wouldn't have to do this in the freezing cold.

He walked past her as she shut the door. When she turned he held out the flowers for her. "These are for you."

She couldn't help but smile as he handed her the bouquet. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Don't give me to much credit. Those were all Henry."

She smiled at the thoughtfulness of her son. "I would like to put them in water. Do you mind talking in the kitchen?"

"Sure" he smiled at her.

Once in the kitchen she busied herself with the flowers. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Us." when she said nothing he continued. "Actually I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

She eyes him suspiciously as she brought the vase and the flowers to the end of the kitchen island where he was sitting. "The bad news first I suppose."

He let out a breath. "Ok well the bad news is that Snow noticed the way I was looking at you tonight and decided to question me about it outside the diner. The questioning turned to fighting which involved some yelling. So basically the whole town now knows about us." he finished.

Regina let out a breath. She hadn't wanted this. She hadn't wanted to give the town another reason to hate her. She had tried to do the right thing and break things off but the town found out anyway. Even when she did the right thing everyone still ended up hating her. "And the good news?"

He had been waiting for some sort of reaction. Something to help him understand what she was thinking, but all he had gotten was a resigned sigh. "Well the good news as Henry pointed out to me afterwards is that the whole reason you broke up with me to begin with was so the town wouldn't find out and now they know, so there is no reason we can't be together."

That certainly sounded like something Henry would say. Wait… "Did you tell Henry why I broke things off with you?" her voice for the first time conveying a bit of emotion.

"No. He apparently eavesdropped on a conversation between Emma and I at the police station today."

"So you told Emma?"

He ignored the question. "Regina, do you know what Henry told me tonight? He told me that he wants us to be a family." he reached for her hand. "He doesn't want us to be apart Regina. He even told me to tell you that you shouldn't worry because people would have something new to talk about soon."

Regina's eyes had filled when he talked about Henry. "That's not fair. It's not fair to use my son against me."

She walked back into the foyer but he had caught up to her in three strides and took her gently by the arm to turn her back to face him.

"Regina I'm not using him against you. I'm telling you what he wants and what I want."

He took her face in his hands and held it so she would look at him. "I want you Regina. I want all of you. I want to see your gorgeous face when I wake up in the morning and I want you in my arms when I go to sleep at night." He brushed his hands down her arms until he was lightly holding her hands. " I want to eat your glorious cooking when I get home from work" she smiled a little at that. "I want you to be there to give me a hug and a kiss when I've had a bad day but mostly I want to be there to hold you when you've had a bad day." She looked down as the tears began to run down her cheeks. Her resolve was weakening. "I love you so much Regina, more then I ever thought I could possibly love someone. Don't you understand?" He lifted her chin with his finger and gave her a light kiss. "You're my happy ending."

She sobbed at his last statement and wrapped her arms around him burying her face in his neck. He pulled his arms tight around her waist and picked her up off the floor and just held her. She cried lightly into his neck wondering how she had ever thought it would be a good idea to give this man up. "I love you James."

He let the relief flood through him at her words and started to laugh. She pulled back a little still with tears in her eyes but she was smiling. She studied his smiling face for moment. "You're my happy ending too. You and Henry!" she leaned in to give him a passionate kiss.

He set her back on her feet but only for a moment as he shifted position and swooped her up into his arms. "I'm taking you to bed my love." she laughed as he headed towards the stairs.

"James, we need to turn out the lights."

"Oh of course you're right." He walked into the kitchen still holding her in his arms and waited for her to flip the light switch. She laughed as she reached over and flipped it.

"You know we would get to bed much faster if you would put me down." she told him as he walked into the living room and carried her to a lamp.

"Nope. I won't be letting go of you for the rest of the evening." He gave her a light kiss on her lips. "Besides, I'm in no hurry. As a matter of fact I think I want to take things good and slow. He brushed his lips along her jaw. "I want to savor every inch of you."

Her heart pounded at his words. She wrapped her arms tight around him as he started up the stairs trailing light kisses along his neck.

When they got in the bedroom he laid her gently on the bed and pulled off his sweater as he sat down beside her. She trailed a hand along his bare chest as he looked down at her face. He brushed his fingers along the outline of her face before lowering his lips to hers. After giving her a deep kiss he pulled back and smiled at her then proceeded to feather light kisses over her face while moving down to take her earlobe lightly between his teeth. She let out a long sigh as he moved his attention to her neck. He looked back up at her trailing a finger along the exposed skin just above her pajama's. She was watching him with her gorgeous dark eyes urging him to continue. He didn't take his eyes off hers as he opened the first button on her night shirt, then leaned down and kissed the skin that the open button exposed. He continued opening the buttons to her shirt at an excruciatingly slow pace each time bending down to kiss the exposed flesh.

Once he had reached the end of her shirt he sat back up and parted it exposing her bare torso beneath. He took in the sight of her brushing his hands up and down her sides. Bending down he whispered against her cheek. "You are so beautiful." she brought her hands up to the back of his head pulling him down to her for another kiss.

When he sat back up he brought her with him so she could shrug out of her shirt. She moved to run her hands over his skin but he shook his head. "Not yet" he told her as he laid her back down gently continuing his exploration of her with his hands. He trailed his fingers along her stomach. He then brought his hands up to her breasts and gently caressed them as her nipples hardened against his palms. He continued to brush them with his thumbs as she let out a moan. He couldn't resist bending over to take one into his mouth.

He moved his hand down to the waist line of her pants and stood up as she lifted herself so he could pull them off taking her lacy underwear with them as he threw them on the floor. He then moved his hands to his own pants removing them and his boxers in one quick movement. He came back down to the bed where he trailed both hands up her legs spreading them apart as he positioned himself between them. He feathered kisses along the inside of her thighs as he moved his attention upward. She let out a gasp when he placed his mouth over her clit and sucked lightly. Her gasp turned to a moan when he slid two fingers into her. He looked up at her as he brought his free hand up to caress her breast. She arched her back as he felt her legs begin to tremble. He quicken his pace and gave his own groan when he felt her body irrupt beneath him. He continued his movements as she rode out the orgasm.

He brought himself back up her body pausing at her chest where he felt her heart pounding against her ribs. He grinned and placed a kiss between her breasts and then brought himself up to take her mouth in another kiss.

He pulled back and looked at her face until she opened her eyes. She brought her hands up to his shoulders and gave him a satisfied smirk.

He grinned down at her. "You know I really missed your body."

She gave a throaty laugh. "It's only been two days." she teased.

He let out a dramatic groan. "To long!"

She laughed as she pushed her hand against his chest rolling him onto his back so she could climb over him. She began feathering kisses of her own along is face and neck before taking his mouth in a deep kiss. She leaned in a whispered in his ear. "I really missed your body too."

He watched her as she ran her hands up and down his sides. She leaned down and began feathering kisses across his torso. His already pounding heart felt like it would burst from his chest as she continued to move lower. She smiled up at him as she took his length in her soft hands. Never taking her eyes off his she leaned down and took him into her mouth. He brought in a sharp intake of breath and let out a loud groan at the sensations taking over his body. He knew he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer.

"Regina" he panted out "I need to be inside of you. I need you now!"

She brought herself up to straddle his waist as he sat up and pulled her tight to him. She brought her lips to his in a kiss before slowly lowering herself on to him. She began to move as he ran his hands up and down her back. As she felt herself beginning to approach another climax she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and whispered. "I love you." he felt her muscles contract around him as she had another orgasm.

He held her as tightly as he could and whispered into her hair. "I love you, Regina." before finally allowing himself to go over the edge and spilling himself into her.

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They lay side by side on the bed each trying to catch their breath. James turned on his side to look at her. She had her eyes closed as she attempted to regulate her breathing and a small smile on her face. He reached out and traced his hand along her cheek. He could spend the rest of his life only looking at her and would die a happy man.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and her heart melted at the look on his face. He was looking at her as though she was a treasure, a priceless gift that he would never give up. Sometimes it was so hard for her to believe that anyone could love her this much. She turned to face him bringing her hand to his cheek and pressing her mouth to his.

Now that her skin had started to cool she shivered a bit at the cool air of the room. James placed a kiss to her forehead before bending down to pull the covers. He settled back on the bed and pulled her closer to him taking in the smell of her.

She had never felt more content then she did at this moment. Laying safe and warm in the arms of the man she loved. She traced small circles along his shoulder and down his arm. "Have I ever told you how wonderful you are?"

He opened his eyes to look at her. "You know I'm not sure you have." he grinned at her.

She smiled back. "How terrible of me. You my prince are the most wonderful man on the planet. I love you so much and I am the luckiest woman in the world because you love me back."

He looked her in the eyes as he played with her hair. "Do you mean that?"

She frowned a little as she brought her hand to his cheek. "Of coarse I mean it."

"Then I want you to make me a promise."

She still frowned a bit wondering what he was going to ask of her. "Ok?"

He kissed her lightly. "I want you to promise me that you will never run away from me because of the circumstances around us again. From this point on Regina if there is a problem to be faced we face it together." he rested his hand on her cheek. "Will you promise me that?"

Her eyes had filled with tears. No one had ever wanted to stand with her before. She nodded her head as she smiled. "I promise." she snuggled in closer to him. "You make me so happy James."

He kissed her head 'Not nearly as happy as you make me my love." he said quietly as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

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James attempted to untangle his limbs from Regina's but found it difficult as somehow through the night they had completely wrapped themselves around each other.

She stirred as he shifted and tried to ease himself out of bed and she suddenly felt cold. "Where are you going?" she said sleepily.

"Sorry I was trying not to wake you." he kissed her on the forehead. "I was thinking I would get an early start today. The earlier I start the earlier I come home to you." he explained.

"Sounds like a good plan." she smiled up at him "I'll miss you."

He leaned down and placed a kiss to her lips. "I'll miss you too. I'm gonna jump in the shower."

He flipped the shower on when he got into the bathroom. Looking at her pretty face a moment ago he had almost decided to call in sick and crawl back into bed with her, but he knew that Emma needed help sorting through the mess at the station so he had fought the urge.

Now that Emma was back he hoped he would not have to spend so many late nights working. With two people hard at work hopefully they could get things done much faster.

He started when he heard the shower curtain behind him move and turned to see Regina stepping in with him.

"Mind if I join you?" she smiled up at him.

"Is the sky blue?" he chuckled as he pulled her close to him and turned her so she would be under the shower.

She laughed as she pushed her wet hair back from her face and pulled him down to her for a kiss.

James stepped back a minute to study her. "Hmm."

"What?" she laughed giving him a questioning look.

"I just never realized how sexy you are when you're wet." He grinned mischievously at her.

"Oh" she ran her hands over his slippery chest before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well if I'm so sexy." she pulled him down close to her face and whispered "then why don't you do something about it." she met his lips in a passionate kiss.

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They sat next to each other at the kitchen island eating the bacon and eggs she had cooked up for breakfast.

"So what are you going to do today?" he asked after another bite.

"Well first thing I'm going to do is find the cricket and give him a piece of my mind." when he looked at her inquisitively she told him about her conversation the night before with Emma and how Archie had told her about their sessions.

"Regina I'm sure he was just trying to help."

"That's not the point James!" She said heating up. "The point is I trusted him and that isn't easy for me to do! How am I supposed to confide in someone I don't trust."

He laid a hand over hers. "I didn't say it was right Regina. I just said he was trying to help." He was pleased to see her calm a little. "So what are your plans after you talk to Archie?"

She sighed a little. "I don't know, I thought about seeing if Henry might want to go riding for a while since Emma will have to spend the day at the station."

He leaned in and kissed her. "Sounds like fun. Will Henry being staying here tonight?"

She shook her head. "No he is spending another night with Emma. They really didn't get a chance to spend much time together last night since everyone at the party wanted a little piece of her time. She and I talked about it last night. We're going to try and work out a schedule."

"It's good that you are letting him spend time with her. Much better then the two of you fighting all the time."

She gave a half laugh. "Well I'm not sure if the two of us will ever stop fighting completely." James chuckled as she gave a wry smile "But Henry loves her so…I'm trying."

He took her face in his hands and smiled at her. "I'm proud of you." He kissed her firmly on the lips. "So since we have the night to ourselves why don't we have us a movie night? I get to pick the movie."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you get to pick?"

"Because I don't want to watch some girl movie." she gave him a playful shove as he laughed. "I better get going." After standing he took her hands and pulled her to her feet. He brought his head down to hers for a kiss. "I love you." he said it as he pulled her into a hug.

She smiled feeling the happiest she had in a very long time. "I love you too."

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**A/N Well looks like we got some sexy times back. Hope you all enjoyed their reunion. Would love to hear your reviews! My new fic should be up tomorrow or Saturday.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to all who read and reviewed. **

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Cora stood outside her daughters house. She was alone. The timing was perfect to set her plan into motion. She needed to turn everyone in town against her. She had watched her at the diner the night before, and heard bits of her conversation with Emma. They were sharing the boy now.

It surprised Cora that even after finding out everything her daughter had done, Emma was still allowing her to see Henry. She hadn't expected for anyone to show compassion for Regina. On top of that was the fact that Henry still seemed to want Regina as his mother. She had stood outside the diner watching their interaction with each other. The way they smiled at each other and laughed had confused Cora. How could this boy still want to be with her?

She had never shared a close relationship with Regina. The more she had held on to her the more Regina pushed her away. Not this time though. This time she was going to make sure her daughter had no one left to believe in her. Once she was broken she would come back to Cora willingly that was certain.

Most of the people in town already despised her. She needed to make sure that her daughter had no one to turn to though. She needed to make the son her Regina loved so much hate her. Only then would Regina turn to her. Her daughter had given her the perfect idea this morning with the cricket and she now had her plan set in place. It would happen tonight while Regina was alone and had no one to account for her. She was sure the idiot Charming's would be the first on the band wagon to execute Regina for the murder of the beloved bug.

Cora grinned before disappearing in a blue cloud.

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Regina put the finishing touches on her enchiladas before putting them in the oven. James had called letting her know he was on his way a few minutes ago. She was looking forward to their night together. Having a movie night with the man she loves just seems so…normal.

She heard the sound of the door opening. "Honey, I'm home."

She laughed at the lame line. "I'm in the kitchen."

He walked into the kitchen, turned her to give her a smacking kiss then picked her up and spun her around. Regina laughed as she held on to his neck. When he sat her back on her feet he took her face in his hands. "Hello gorgeous." He kissed her again only this time it was slow and seductive.

Regina gave a small hum of approval before he pulled back smiling at her. "Well that was some greeting. What has you in such a good mood?"

He continued to smile as he moved his hands back down to her waist. "Well this morning I woke up with the woman I love wrapped in my arms. I had a pretty good day at work although I was completely distracted because all I seemed to be able to think about was coming back home to you." he dropped a light kiss to the tip of her nose. "Then I come in the door to smell something glorious cooking and walk into the kitchen where I get to kiss this gorgeous brunette that I'm currently holding in my arms. I'd say all in all that's a fantastic day."

She smiled up at him "And it's not even over yet."

"No it's not." he reached his hands down to give a quick squeeze to her bottom before giving her another firm kiss on the mouth. "So how as your day?"

She leaned on the kitchen island while he went to the refrigerator to grab himself a drink. "Well I got to wake up with the man I love which was a wonderful start. It looked like things might go downhill after my conversation with the cricket, but then Henry and I went riding which turned it all around again." she walked to where he sat and let her arms hang loosely over his shoulders as he brought his hands to her waist. "I will confess though I have been very much looking forward to spending the evening with you." she placed a light kiss to his lips. "So what movie did you pick out?"

He grinned "Well I decided to go with the horror genre for the evening. We will be watching 'The Ring'."

"A horror movie?" she smiled at him.

He grinned at her "I guess I'm hoping you'll get all freaked out and cuddle up to me for protection."

She gave a throaty laugh. "James I am The Evil Queen. Do you really thing some silly move is going to scare me?"

He shrugged. "Maybe you will protect me then." He grinned

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"OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL?! But they found her body…it was supposed to be over…they helped her…OH MY GOD!" Regina had her knees pulled up to her chest and was leaning against James who chuckled under his breath. After the terrifying scene she glanced his way and saw him grinning. She smacked him on the arm. "Why would you show me this movie?! I'm never going to sleep again! Now I have to get rid of all my TV's!

James was laughing so hard at her reaction he couldn't catch his breath. When he finally had the composure to speak he turned to her. "I thought you said a movie couldn't scare you, Your Majesty."

She glared at him. "I was thinking more along the lines of blood and gore. Not creepy children coming out of TV's and killing you by looking at you."

"Oh, I knew blood and gore wouldn't work on you. Nope you need something more subtle like the angry vengeful spirit of a dead girl that has a grudge against the world." He put an arm around her. "Speaking of grudges, that would be a good one for us to do on our next movie night." She raised her eyebrow at him. "The Grudge."

She rolled her eyes. "I get to pick for the next movie night and we won't be doing horror!"

He looked at her while she scowled and leaned her head back against the couch. He couldn't help but lean in for a kiss. She allowed him to deepen the kiss for a moment before pushing him back with her hand. "You don't actually think you are going to get lucky after you just scared the shit out of me do you?"

He grinned. "Oh, I know I'm gonna get lucky."

"Really?" She smiled a little. "How's that?"

"Well" he glanced back at the clock. "It's almost 11:00 and I have an early day tomorrow and I had an early start today. I think the only way I'm going to be able to stay awake is with the right incentive." When she only raised a brow at him he continued. "Unless you want me to just go on up to bed and leave you down here alone…with the TV."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not scared."

"Ok then." he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight."

She grabbed his arm before he was able to get up and shifted so that she straddled his lap. "You know come to think of it I'm not really that tired yet." She leaned down to give him a passionate kiss. "Maybe I could use a little activity to wear myself out."

"Ah so now you're just using me for exercise?"

She grinned as she lowered her hand to caress him through his pants. "Do you mind?"

He let out a moan, "Not at all."

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James had gotten another early start this morning. He sipped the coffee that Regina had put in a to go mug for him and set another file to the side. They really needed to find a new mayor. As of right now the Sheriff's station was handling those duties as well which was ridiculous James thought as he looked over a tax document that he didn't understand.

He started a little when Emma burst into the station. He looked up at her as she breezed into her office virtually ignoring him.

"Emma?" she turned to face him.

"Call your girlfriend in for questioning." She said to him.

James furrowed his brow. "Why would I call Regina in here to question her? What is it you think she's done?"

"Archie's dead." Emma deadpanned. "Ruby saw the two of them fighting yesterday on the docs and she saw Regina go into his office last night."

"What?!" James tried to process what he was hearing. The first blow that Archie was dead was enough to throw him , but then the second, that Emma believed Regina was the one who did it, that one hit him in the gut. "Emma, Ruby couldn't have seen Regina last night. She was with me."

Emma turned to look at her father and narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying Ruby's lying?

"Of course not, but I am saying maybe she's mistaken in what she saw."

"What time did you get home last night?"

"It was around 6:30 I guess."

"And how long did you stay?"

"I spent the night." He looked her straight in the eye.

"Did she leave at any time?"

"No, Emma she was with me all night."

Emma let out a relieved breath. "Ok." She hadn't wanted to believe that Regina could do this. Her and Henry's relationship had improved so much and Emma couldn't stand the thought of breaking his heart. "So if it wasn't Regina then we need to figure out who it was. We should head over to his office."

David nodded, but hesitated, Emma turned back to look at him. "I would like to stop by Regina's and tell her about Archie." When Emma only lifted an eyebrow he explained. "He was one of the only people in town who believed in her ability to change, besides me and Henry. Whether she would admit it or not he was her friend. I don't want her to find out from someone else."

Emma nodded. "We'll stop by on the way."

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James walked in the door to the mansion. "Regina? You home?"

"James?" He heard coming from the study and headed in that direction.

She gave a bright smile when she saw him and walked towards him. "Well this is a surprise. What brings you here in the middle of the day?" She started to lean in for a kiss until she saw Emma standing in the doorway looking uncomfortable. Her smile tightened a bit. "With Emma…"

"Hi Regina." Emma greeted from the door and Regina nodded in her direction.

James took Regina's hands into his. "Regina there's something I need to tell you."

Regina's heart rate picked up. "Henry?! She looked between both of them. Is Henry ok?!"

James put his hands on her face. "Henry's fine, this is about Archie."

"Archie?" She searched his eyes. "What about him?"

"Some one killed him last night." he couldn't really think of an easy way to put it so he just said it.

Regina just stared at him for a moment then shook her head and whispered "What?"

"We're not sure what happened yet. We're still waiting on the coroner's report." he rubbed her arms.

"I…I don't…Who would do that? Who would kill Archie?" she asked the shock clearly evident in her voice.

If Emma had any doubts about whether or not it could have been Regina she didn't now. This woman had not known that Archie was dead. She spoke up for the first time. "We don't know yet, but we're gonna find out."

"No one saw anything?" Regina asked blankly.

James and Emma looked at each other for a moment which had Regina narrowing her eyes. "What?"

Emma cleared her throat. "Well Ruby said that she saw you going into his office last night."

Regina's eyes widened as she stared at Emma. "Surely you don't believe I did this?"

James brought his hand up to her face. "Of course not. I told Emma that we were together all night last night and that Ruby had to be mistaken."

Regina breathed a small sigh of relief as she looked into his eyes. Tears beginning to fill her own. "Archie's really dead?"

He brought her to rest against his chest as the first tear rolled down her cheek.

Emma stood up from the wall. "James, I'm gonna go to the Archie's office and have a look around. Why don't you stay here with Regina for a while?"

James nodded as he stroked Regina's hair. "Thanks Emma."

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Emma didn't know what to think. After running into Snow at Archie's office and deciding to question Gold they had been talked into using the dream catcher to look at Pongo's memories. She had seen it with her own eyes. Regina had choked the life out of Archie.

Emma exited the shop in shock. She vaguely heard Snow behind her. "I knew it! I knew she would never change. She's the same evil witch she always was!"

Emma stopped in her tracks. "This doesn't make sense!"

Snow stared at Emma. "What do you mean it doesn't make sense Emma? You just saw her kill Archie!"

Emma gave the other woman and annoyed glance. "I know what I saw Snow, but she has an alibi."

Snow glared at Emma. "James was with her." it wasn't a question. "Emma you don't know what that woman is capable of. She very well could have snuck off at some point to kill Archie without James even knowing. She probably cast a spell on him so he wouldn't even realize she was gone."

Emma huffed out a breath, she had watched Regina mourn just an hour ago. "But why, I mean she has everything she wants. She has the love of her son, a man that loves her." she gave a sympathetic look to Snow before continuing. "Plus Archie was her friend. Why would she kill one of the only people in town who believed in her."

"Because she was angry with him." Snow spat out.

"Snow, I've been angry with a lot of people in my life that are still alive today. Just because she was angry with someone doesn't mean she would turn around and kill them."

"You don't know her Emma, she's killed for a lot less then anger. How can you deny what you just saw with your own eyes? She needs to be locked up so she can't hurt anyone."

Emma sighed. "Alright, we'll go to her house, but just to talk to her. We need to figure out what is going on."

"We need to get the Blue Fairy." Snow headed in the direction of the convent.

"The Blue Fairy? Why?" Emma asked

"Because we need to protect ourselves. Regina isn't going to be happy to have us there Emma. Fairy magic can strip her of her powers for a time so she won't be able to use magic against us."

Emma huffed. "We're just going to talk to her Snow, do you really think that's necessary?"

"Absolutely." Snow said with determination.

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James had held Regina for a long time, allowing her to take comfort from him. They hadn't talked, he had just laid down on the couch and pulled her down to rest on his chest as he rubbed her back with his hands.

"I was so mean to him." Regina broke the silence.

"What?" James moved his hand to stroke her hair.

"All he had ever done was try to help me and the last time I saw him I said horrible things to him. I didn't know I wouldn't see him again."

James leaned down to kiss her hair. "You were angry."

She sniffed as a tear rolled down her cheek. "But it's the last words he heard from me."

James didn't know what to say so he sat silently stroking her hair.

They were pulled from their quiet moment by the sound of the doorbell. Regina moved off James to answer it and when she pulled open the door she found herself looking at Emma. Snow was standing off to the side glaring at her.

"Emma, what can I do for you?"

Emma saw the obvious evidence of tears on the former mayors face and her instincts were telling her that something wasn't right, but she couldn't explain it. "We need to talk." When Regina only stood calmly listening she continued. "I saw you do it, Regina, I saw you choke the life out of Archie." At Regina and James's questioning looks Emma said on a sigh. "Magic."

Regina tilted her head a bit "How on earth could you have possibly seen…Gold." she sneered the name. "How can you trust him when he's probably the one behind this?"

"We didn't trust him, that's why Emma used magic instead." Snow spoke for the first time.

"Emma that's impossible. I told you I was with Regina all night. She never left." James spoke up from behind Regina.

"Oh please James" Snow huffed out a breath. "She probably put you under some sleeping spell so you wouldn't wake up when she left."

James glared at Snow for a moment before turning back to Emma. "What time do you figure Archie was killed?"

Emma looked at him. "The diner closed down at 11:00, Ruby walked out to get the sign right around then. That's when she claims she saw Regina going into Archie's office. Judging from what I saw from Pongo's memories Archie was killed very quickly after she entered so my guess would be around 11:15 give or take a few minutes.

James sighed. "I was awake then. We had just finished watching a movie and I glanced at the clock when it was over. It was a little before 11:00. I remember because I was teasing her about going to bed. There was no spell Emma I was awake I was with her, touching her…she didn't go anywhere."

Regina had said nothing she had just continued to look at Emma's face. She believed them, she could tell.

Emma sighed and looked at her watch. "Henry will be getting off the bus soon. He's going to have to be told."

Regina finally spoke again. "Let me come with you."

Emma looked back at her. "I don't know if that's a good idea right now."

Regina followed her down the stairs. "Emma please, He's my son!"

Emma turned seeing the tears in her eyes and was about to give in when she heard her mother scream "Do it!"

Emma and James turned to look at Snow but Regina caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned just in time to see the blue fairy hurl a ball of fairy dust at her. She caught it easily in her hand and she turned to look at Snow. "Did you really think that would work again?" She tossed it to Snows feet freezing her in place.

She turned toward Emma. "You will not keep my son from me!" before she could move towards Emma she felt arms wrap around her from behind and grab on to both of her hands.

"Regina" James felt the magic hum against his hands as held hers in place. "Don't Regina! Remember your promise to Henry." he felt her relax a little and loosened his grip enough to move in front of her and took her face in his hands. "And your promise to me. We're going to figure this out together."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes "They're trying to take my son from me."

James stroked her cheek. "Baby, nobody is gonna take Henry from you. I won't let them."

"They tried to trap me. They wanted to trick me into using magic so Henry would hate me. I almost broke my promise to him." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"That wasn't supposed to happen Regina." Emma spoke from behind James as she glared at her mother. "Snow convinced me to bring the Blue Fairy for protection only if it was needed. I'm sorry."

"See it wasn't a trap. It's all a misunderstanding." he pulled her into him offering her support.

He turned to face Emma while keeping one arm secure around Regina's shoulders. "Emma, why don't you call Ruby or Leroy and ask them to get Henry off the bus and take him straight to the apartment so he won't hear anything about Archie until we get there." he rubbed Regina's arm a little. "Then we will all go inside and talk about this and see if we can't figure out what the hell is happening here. Ok?"

They all nodded and turned towards the door. James who was still holding one arm around Regina sent a look to the Blue Fairy who was still standing there. "Blue I believe your services are no longer needed." she nodded as she turned to walk away. Emma and Snow followed them into the house.

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**A/N So anyone who has seen "The Ring" will know which scene I was referring to. If you haven't seen it, trust me, it's terrifying! Regina's reaction was pretty much based off the one I had when I watched it! :) **

**Hope you all enjoyed! Reviews really help me! Let me know what you thought and if you have any suggestions!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Sorry it took so long to update. I have kind of gotten caught up in writing my other fic "A Chance for Change" but I haven't forgotten this one. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

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The four of them sat in Regina's living room. The now separated married couple, their daughter who just happened to be the same age as them, and his new girlfriend who had been accused of murder. If this didn't make for an awkward situation James wasn't sure what did. He cleared his throat. "Ok so it looks to me that someone is trying very hard to make it look as though Regina killed Archie."

"Or she really did kill him" Snow threw in.

James stood in frustration. "I WAS WITH HER!" James raised his voice. "She never left my side! Your more then welcome to use your memory trick on me, but I can promise you Snow that you will not like what you see!"

"Alright!" Emma brought everyone's attention back to her. "That's enough arguing." She looked at James "You say she was with you all night and I believe you, so now we need to figure out who would have the motive to do this."

Regina gave a humorless laugh. "I think the easier question would be who doesn't have the motive to do this. A lot of people in this town would like to see me hang."

"True but why Archie?" Emma wondered allowed.

"Maybe it wasn't about Archie." James threw in. "Maybe whoever did it just saw the two of them arguing yesterday morning and saw an opportunity."

"Whoever did it had magic." Emma looked at Regina "Is there anyone else in this town that you know of besides you and Rumple who can use magic."

"Other then you?" Regina raised an eyebrow. "There were a few, but not many of them were very skilled. It could be possible that there is someone I don't know of though."

"Ok." Emma sighed. "How about you get me a list and we'll start there."

Regina nodded. "Emma" She said quietly "I really want to see Henry. He's going to be devastated when he finds out about Archie."

Emma nodded "We'll tell him together."

"Emma!" Snow gasped out. At the same time as Regina let out the breath she was holding.

She ignored Snow and looked Emma in the eye. "Thank you." She said it softly.

Emma gave a tight smile, the truth was she was happy she wouldn't be doing it alone. She was so new to this parenting thing that she was glad to have someone to help her. "Why don't we head to the apartment now."

They all stood up and as Regina walked to get her coat James touched Emma's arm. "Thank you."

Emma shrugged. "She's his mom."

"I didn't mean just about Henry. Thank you for believing me." He gave her a smile.

"You're welcome." She smiled back. "Now we just need to find the real killer."

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Henry ran to the door as soon as he heard the key in the lock. He had figured out that something was wrong and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw not only Snow and Emma walking into the apartment, but his mother and James following behind them.

"What's going on?" he pounced the minute everyone had come through the door. "What happened?"

The four adults said nothing at first and Grumpy cleared his throat. "I'm going to go on." He eyed Regina a little suspiciously on his way out but said nothing to her. "I'll see you later Henry." The dwarf called out.

"Bye Grumpy." Henry said somewhat absently still looking at his family. "Something bad happened didn't it?"

Emma sighed "Yeah Henry something bad happened." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Henry it's about Archie…" Emma tried to continue but froze when his wide eyes looked into hers. How was she supposed to do this.

Regina saw her struggling and took over touching Henry's arm and turning him to face her. She sat down on a kitchen chair so she could look in his eyes. "Sweetheart, something happened to Archie last night."

The look Henry gave her broke her heart. "Is he ok?" He asked quietly.

Regina brought her hand up to brush back his hair. "No baby, he's not. Archie was killed last night Henry."

His eyes immediately filled. "What? No that can't be right! I just saw him at the party! What happened?"

Emma placed a hand on his shoulder. "Someone killed him Henry."

Henry turned to face Emma. "Who would do that?! Why would someone want Archie dead?!"

Emma thought it best to be honest about the frame job. Everyone in town besides them believed Regina was guilty. "We don't know who did it. What we do know is that someone went to a lot of trouble to try and make it look like it was your mom."

Henry turned back to Regina with tears rolling down his cheeks. "But you didn't…You wouldn't…"

She brought her hands up to his shoulders. "No Henry, I didn't."

James crouched down beside him. "Whoever did it didn't realize that I was with your mom last night. I can vouch for where she was the whole time."

Henry glanced around to all four adults before facing his mother again. "Archie's really dead?" his bottom lip quivered.

Regina put both hands on his face "I'm so sorry sweetheart."

Henry let out a sob and wrapped his arms around his mom. She shifted him and pulled him onto her lap while he sobbed into her neck. She rocked him and rubbed his back while she let him mourn the loss of one of his closest friends. She comforted her son while the other three looked on.

Emma couldn't stand the thought of Henry being in so much pain. She would do anything to take it from him. Tears spilled over her eyes as she listened to her son sob. She felt an arm around her shoulder and looked up to find James somewhat awkwardly trying to give her comfort. She just as awkwardly put an arm around his waist and leaned into him a bit.

Snow stood back watching everything that was happening. She didn't know what to think. James insisted he had been with her the whole time even going so far as to volunteer to have the dream catcher used on him. She hated to admit how much she wanted Regina to be guilty. She wanted her to pay for all the horrible things she had done to her and if she were guilty of murder then she would have to.

When Henry's sobs quieted some he pulled back a little so he could look at Regina. "Mommy, can I go with you tonight?" Her heart broke at the term that he hadn't called her since he was eight and decided he was to old to say mommy anymore. Her head snapped up to Emma afraid she would refuse but instead she nodded her head and Regina looked back at him smoothing his hair back from his face. "Of course you can baby." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

James spoke up. "It's been a long day, we should probably all try to get some sleep."

Regina nodded and rubbed Henry's back. "Come on sweetheart let's go home."

Henry stood quietly and gave Emma and Snow hugs goodbye before turning to go with his mom and James. "Henry" Emma called out as he turned back to her. "I promise I'm going to find the person who did this."

Henry nodded sadly and turned to leave.

XXXXXXXX

Henry sighed as he sat on his bed looking through his "Once Upon a Time" book. It was this book that had made him become friends with Archie to begin with. After changing into his pajamas he had seen the book lying on the nightstand by his bed and picked it up.

He glanced up at the knock on the door to see his mom standing there. She silently walked over and sat down on the bed beside him putting her arm around him and pulling him close.

"I can't believe he's really gone." he said as another tear rolled down his cheek.

"I know baby, me either." she sighed as she kissed his hair.

Henry looked up at her with sad eyes. "Would it be ok if I sleep with you and James tonight?"

"Sure it would." she gave him a little smile.

He set his book aside and followed her to her bedroom where they found James getting ready for bed. Henry and Regina both climbed under the covers, he cuddled into her side and laid his head on her chest. James gave a small smile before crawling into bed himself on Regina's other side. He turned off the bedside lamp and gave her a light kiss on the temple before wrapping them both in his arms.

Henry sighed as he let his mom's heartbeat calm and comfort him. "I love you mom."

"I love you too my sweet boy." Regina leaned up to kiss his hair.

"I love you James." Henry said.

James hadn't expected that but it made his heart melt. "I love you too Henry."

XXXXXXXX

Archie's funeral had been nice and exactly what he would have wanted. Regina had stood back from the crowd knowing that she wouldn't be welcomed by most of the people there. A tear rolled down her cheek as the crowd began to dissipate. She was going to miss him.

She sighed as she saw Henry, James and Emma walking towards her. Henry had clung to her since Archie's death. She had considered not coming to the funeral because of people's reactions to her and coming to pay her respects later, but Henry had begged her to go with him. She hadn't been able to turn him down. She hated seeing him so hurt.

She opened her arms as Henry walked into them and rested his head against her chest. She kissed him and then turned her cheek to rest it on his head.

"There are some people coming over to the apartment Regina if you would like to come." Emma told her.

Regina looked up but kept her arms around Henry and shook her head. "I don't think it would be a good idea but thank you."

"I wanna stay with you." Henry said, his words muffled against her chest.

Regina's heart gave a small leap that her son wanted to be with her, that he wanted her to be the one to comfort him. There was a time when she feared more then anything that he didn't want her to be his mom, that he didn't love her at all. She kissed him again.

"Henry I think it would be good for you to go. You could spend some time with Archie's friends and listen to them tell stories about him." She pulled him back so she could look at him. "I bet Geppetto has some good ones and I'm sure he would love to have someone to tell them too. One of the best things we can do for Archie now is to remember all the good times we had with him." she took his face in her hands. "I think Geppetto is feeling very lonesome right now too, since he just lost his best friend. I bet Archie would really like it if you gave him a friend to talk to." She didn't want to be without her little boy, even for a few hours, but she really believed going would be good for him.

"But what about you? You need a friend with you too."

She smiled at him. "I will be ok. I have some stuff I need to do anyway. You and James go on with Emma. I will see you later on tonight." Henry wrapped himself around her again pressing his face into her.

Emma stood next to her father watching the whole exchange quietly. It stung a little, that Henry wanted to stay with Regina over her. Emma hadn't had a mother growing up. She never had someone that cared enough to wipe away her tears and comfort her when she was sad, but she imagined if she had and she were going through what Henry currently was she would want her mom too. She was happy that Henry had this even if it did cause a slight pang of jealousy that she hadn't been the one who could give it to him.

She looked up to see James looking at her with his own look of regret on his face. It appeared she had more in common with her father then she thought. Things had been awkward with him since she found out who everyone was. They were a little awkward with Snow as well, but that relationship was a easier as they had already been best friends. She really didn't know James that well and often didn't know what to do with herself when she was around him. They did seem to be developing a friendship though.

"I'll see you later tonight won't I?" Henry asked his mom.

"Yes." she smiled at him. "I will see you at home later."

"James can take you home when he leaves." Emma said from behind him.

Henry turned to face Emma and nodded. He had missed Emma in the last few days, it wasn't that he didn't want to be with her it was just that his mom had way of comforting him like no one else did. Maybe going with Emma and James for a few hours would be ok though. His mom was right. Geppetto probably could use a friend right now.

He turned back to look at Regina. "Ok, I love you."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I love you too."

He turned and walked to Emma who put her arm around him and walked to the car.

James made his way to Regina and pulled her into his arms. She laid her head against his shoulder as he rubbed circles on her back. "Are you sure you don't want some company today?" He asked her.

She looked up at him. "I always want your company, but you should go." she leaned in to give him a kiss. "I will be ok for a few hours." she gave him a small smile. "I love you."

He leaned in to kiss her forehead, "I love you too."

XXXXXXXX

James said goodbye to the last of the people who had come to Archie's funeral as they left the apartment. It had been a long day and he would like nothing more then to fall into bed and sleep for two or three days. The past several days had been emotionally exhausting. He looked up over to the couch where Emma and Henry were having a quiet conversation as he petted Pongo's head. Emma had gotten Geppetto to agree to letting Henry keep Pongo hoping to cheer him up. James smiled lightly wondering what Regina's reaction was going to be to the new family member. He watched Henry smile as Pongo licked his face. She would love it he decided. Anything that made her son smile right now Regina would welcome with open arms.

Leaving them to their conversation he walked up to the counter where Snow was cleaning up "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing, I've got it." She didn't even look at him.

He wasn't sure what he expected. She was still so angry with him. It had only been a few days since she had found out about him and Regina and he knew it was still very raw. "I would like to help Snow." he said gently.

"Yeah well, I would like my life back but I guess we don't always get what we want do we Charming?" She snapped out.

He placed a hand on her arm and she looked at him briefly. "I really am sorry Snow. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"If you were sorry James you would have been here trying to fix your marriage and putting your family back together the night Archie was killed instead of fucking Regina." Snow spat out. "Tell me Charming what was it she did to seduce you? How did she get you to fall for her?"

"She didn't seduce me Snow, as a matter of fact she never even tired. I was the one who started this." he said it quietly. "It wasn't love at first but it didn't take long for it to turn into love. When the walls she normally keeps up came crashing down and I saw who she really is…" he trailed off not wanting to break Snow's heart more.

Snow closed her eyes "I'm not ready to talk about this with you."

"Ok, but I would like for us to at least be civil if we can try. There are two people that we both love sitting in the living room right now and it isn't fair to make them choose between us." he pleaded with her. "I would also like to remind you that however you may feel about Regina to please remember that she is Henry's mother and he loves her very much."

Snow looked towards her daughter and grandson sitting on the couch. "I wouldn't say something bad about Regina in front of Henry James, I know he loves her." she huffed out a breath. "I think we can be civil around Emma and Henry, but don't think that makes everything ok between us."

"Fair enough." James nodded as there was a knock on the door and Pongo gave a loud bark.

"I got it." Emma called out. When she pulled open the door her jaw dropped and she stood there speechless. "Ar…Archie?!"

Archie gave her a small smile. He looked a little beat up, but he was standing in front of her. Henry had walked to the door to see who was there and his eyes went wide when he saw him. "Archie!" Henry yelled it as he threw himself at the man.

"Henry, it's so good to see you." he hugged the boy back as all three adults looked at him with wide eyes.

"Archie what in the hell…You were…we thought you were dead?!" Emma stammered.

"It was Cora." Archie said. "She kidnapped me, they wanted information on Regina and Rumple."

James' heart stopped a minute. He had seen the look of fear come over Regina's face when it was even suggested that Cora was trying to get here. "Cora is here?"

Archie nodded.

"How?" Emma asked.

"I don't know for sure. All I know is her and Hook held me on a ship."

"Where are they now?" Emma asked a feeling of dread coming over her.

"I don't know." Archie said honestly.

"My mom." Henry cried out panic flooding his eyes. "My mom's alone."

James ran to grab his cell phone. "I'm gonna drive to her house to check up on her and make sure everything is ok." he said as he pulled up Regina to call her. He was trying not to sound panicked because of Henry.

"I'm coming with you." Henry said following James.

James turned to him. "Henry I need you to stay here for right now. I'm gonna get your mom and we will come right back to get you I promise, but if there is even a chance that Cora is around your mom she would skin me alive if I let you anywhere near her."

Henry's eyes were looking more and more panicked by them minute. He shouldn't have left her he thought. Why did he let her talk him into leaving? "I want my mom!" He whispered desperately with fear in his eyes.

James placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm gonna bring her to you Henry. I just need you to stay here for a while. Ok?"

Henry nodded as tears began to spill over on to his cheeks.

"I am coming with you James." Emma told him. If Cora was around he would definitely need back up. "I am the sheriff after all."

James nodded. "Ok, lets go."

They left quickly and headed to the police cruiser. James calling Regina as they moved.

XXXXXXXX

Regina had come to visit her father and once here decided to take a walk inside her vault. She had hidden this room here in case she ever needed someplace to hide. This was were she kept all her things that she had brought with her from her old life. Life as The Evil Queen seemed so far away now.

She had finally gotten what she had always wanted. She had love in her life. First the love of her son and now James's love as well. She could honestly say that finally she was happy.

She heard the voice call out for her and walked to the mirror on the door and saw her son. He was supposed to be with David and Emma. What was he doing here? She opened the door and found herself with Henry wrapped around her waist. "Henry, what are you doing here? You are supposed to be with James and Emma."

"I had to see you." the boy told her.

"Henry did you tell them you were leaving?" when he said nothing she took him by the shoulders. "Henry you have to stop running off without telling people. They are probably frantic right now."

As if on queue her phone started to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket to see it was James. She held it up for Henry. "See?"

"James." she answered. "It's ok he's here with me."

"What? Who's with you Regina?"

"Henry, I'm sorry he ran off from you."

"Regina I just left Henry not two minutes ago, he's at Snows apartment."

"What are you talking about James? I'm sitting here looking…" She trailed off as she saw her son make an odd movement. He was standing strangely...This wasn't her son. Her heart rate picked up a bit.

"Regina your mother is here. I'm on my way to your house now." When she said nothing he continued. "Regina do you hear me?'

Regina continued to stare as she watched her son become surrounded in a puff of smoke and transform into her mother.

Her hand shook slightly as she still held the phone to her ear. She could hear James talking but could only continue to stare at her mother.

"Regina?!" She could hear the panic in James's voice. "Regina?! She's there isn't she?"

"Yes."

"Where are you Regina? I'm coming to get you."

"No." she said it firmly. She would not let her mother hurt her baby or James.

"I'm almost to your house. I will be there in a minute. I'm not leaving you alone with her."

"I'm not there. I want you go back and protect my son." she told him firmly.

"I will not leave you alone with her! Tell me where you are!"

"I will call you later."

"Regina, don't you dare hang up this phone!"

She closed her eyes as she ended the call and faced the woman standing in front of her. "Hello Mother."

XXXXXXXX

**A/N I love to know what you think so please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Sorry it took a while to update this one. I had some trouble with this chapter. I know where I'm going with this story, I was just having a little trouble figuring out how I want to get there. Thanks to all who read and reviewed! You guys are awesome!**

**I know we found out Prince Charming's real name is David, but I'm with Grumpy I'm just gonna call him whatever I want! I'm sticking with James since I don't want to go back and change this whole fic!**

**I borrowed a little dialog from the show, but then went in my own direction.**

XXXXXXXX

"You. I thought we stopped you. How did you get through?"

Cora stepped forward. "Determination I had to see you. I needed to tell you that I know why you sent me through the looking glass, and I know why you tried to have me killed and…it's alright."

"I think it's not alright."

"I love you, I just…I've always shown it in all the wrong ways." Cora's eyes filled with tears. "And I never should have made you marry the king. I'm so sorry. When you cried over my coffin, it all changed."

"You framed me, for the cricket."

"Temporarily, so you could see what these people really think of you."

"I suppose you were disappointed then when a few actually believed me."

"I have to say I was surprised by your relationship with…Charming…isn't that what they call him?" Cora gave a tight smile. "I can see your taste in men hasn't changed much. Honestly Regina, a shepherd?"

Regina's back straightened at the mention of James. So much for keeping their relationship a secret to protect him. "I can see you haven't changed much either. It always was about status with you."

"I've simply always known that you were destined for greatness." Cora stated without apology. "Your need for love had always been your weakness Regina."

"How can you still say that? Did you not just tell me that you love me or was that said to manipulate me as well? Tell me mother did you ever love me or am I just some pawn to be used when you need me?" Tears fell from Regina's eyes. "Love is not my weakness." Regina brought her hand to her chest. "Love _saved_ me!"

Cora wasn't sure how to react to her daughter's statement. This was not how she expected any of this to go. She was supposed to be able to use her daughter's need for love to win her back. She hadn't expected for her to have people on her side. When she had seen her cuddled up to the prince in the cemetery earlier she had been shocked, not to mention the way her child had clung to her, and then there was Emma Swan who was actually speaking to her. Cora wasn't sure at what point her plan had went wrong. She couldn't understand why all of these people had stood by Regina, but was also slightly envious that her daughter had people who appeared to love her even knowing all the things she had done in her past.

"I do love you Regina." Cora reached for Regina's hand.

Regina allowed her mother to hold on to her hand for a moment. She had always so desperately wanted her mother's affection. "If that were true then you would not have tried to ruin me. You wouldn't have wanted me broken. I would die before I did anything that would hurt my son." Regina stated with conviction. It wasn't until she had become a mother herself that she understood just how twisted her mother had become. Killing the man she loved, forcing her into a loveless marriage to a man three times her age where she had been trapped in a life where she was miserable. Where she had simply been an object and not a person with feelings. She would never force a life like that on Henry. She loved him to much. Her mother's definition of love was twisted and self serving. Henry and James had taught her that love, real love, was about wanting what was best for the other person, even if what was best was not necessarily what she wanted.

Regina brought her other hand up and held her mother's hand in both of hers. "If you really love me mother, you will let me live my life. You will leave my son alone and let me live in peace with the man I love.

Cora shook her head. "But you can be so much more Regina…together we can be so much more." Her eyes pleaded with her. "Do you really want your son? As long as Emma, Snow and your Charming are around he will never be completely yours."

"I don't need him to be completely mine!" Regina threw up her hands in frustration. "Don't you understand. He is allowed to love other people! Just because there are other people in his life doesn't mean that he loves me less. It just means he loves them too!" It had taken her a long time to learn this, but Regina hoped her mother would listen and really hear what she was saying.

Cora stood back shaking her head. "I don't understand you. Why would you want to share your child with others. Especially Snow White, your worst enemy."

"Because he loves them and if they weren't in his life then he would be unhappy. I want more then anything for my son to be happy!" She shook her head. "I won't be joining you mother and if you really love me then you will let me live my life and be happy."

"Regina I want to start over. Can we do that?"

Regina let out a breath. "I don't know if that's possible, I want it to be, but I don't know if we can. I do know that it won't be if you even so much as hint that you will do something to hurt my son or James."

Cora jumped slightly when they heard a crash come from outside.

"Regina?!" They heard coming from the other side of the wall. "Regina, are you here?!"

Regina's heart rate picked up at the sound of his voice and she braced herself, ready to use magic if she must to defend the man she loved.

Cora turned back to Regina and noted the change in her stance. "This conversation isn't over." and she disappeared into a puff of blue smoke.

She let out a relived breath and walked to the door to pull it open.

James turned at the sound and let out his breath when he saw her standing there. "Oh my God!" He ran to her picking her up and holding her tight to him.

Regina buried her face into his neck relieved to have him close to her. He set her back on her feet and Regina was shocked when he pulled back to notice tears in his eyes.

He took her face in his hands. "Don't you ever, ever do that to me again!" he kissed her. His heart was still pounding. He had been terrified her mother would hurt her, he sighed and pulled her back into his chest.

Emma had stood back and witnessed the reunion. She had seen how panicked her father was at the thought of Regina being alone with Cora. The two of them being together was definitely a strange situation, but there was no doubt at all that her father desperately loved this woman. She felt awkward as if she were intruding on a private moment. She cleared her throat. "I'm just gonna go on to the car to call Henry and let him know Regina is ok."

James glanced up at Emma still holding Regina against his chest. "Thanks Emma, we'll be up in just a sec."

Emma nodded and made her way out of the vault.

James let out a breath of relief resting his head against Regina's as his heart rate finally approached a normal speed for the first time since he had heard the name Cora. He pulled back again and brought his lips to hers in a deep kiss. "You scared me."

She had been shocked at his level of emotion when he thought she had been in danger. Sometimes it still surprised her that she had someone who loved her so much. "I'm ok."

"Where is Cora now?" he asked.

"I don't know. She disappeared when she heard your voice."

"Regina I want you to promise me right now that you won't try to be some kind of a hero here and face her alone again. You made a promise to me that we face everything together and I expect you to keep it."

She shook her head. "I'm not going to promise you that I won't put myself in danger to protect you or Henry. I would do anything to keep you both safe. I love you. I will not let her hurt either of you."

"Well then you should know I feel the same about you Regina. If I have to handcuff myself to you until we figure out how to deal with this, I will not let you face her alone again." He kissed her again. "I love you."

She sighed and moved back into his arms. She couldn't really blame him for his reaction. She would have the same one if the situation were reversed.

He let out a sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder and looked around for a moment. "Regina, where are we?"

She smiled a little as she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist. "Just a little retreat I made for myself, when I needed to get away from things for a while."

He looked around and cleared his throat. "You kept all of your dresses from The Enchanted Forest."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I did."

"Good to know." He smiled a little as he kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, lets go get Henry. Poor kid was terrified when he thought that Cora might find you."

XXXXXXXX

Henry had been frantic since Emma and James had left. Snow had done her best to try and console him, but noting she did worked. When Emma called to let them know they had found Regina and she was ok he calmed a bit, but Snow suspected that he wouldn't feel completely better until he saw with his own eyes she was ok.

How was it that Regina, the woman who had tried to kill her so many times and cursed them for 28 years had this little boy who loved her so much? What had she done to deserve such a prize? Not to mention the fact that she now had _her_ husband as well. How had all of this turned around into Regina's favor and left Snow with nothing. How could everything in her life have gone so horribly wrong?

She looked up as the door opened and Henry jumped of the couch and ran to his mother.

"Mom!" Henry threw himself into Regina. "I was so scared! Are you ok?"

Regina held on tight to Henry as the boy cried into her chest. "Yes sweetheart I'm fine." she stroked his hair.

Henry pulled back with tears in his eyes. "I thought she was going to hurt you."

Regina took his face in her hands and kissed him. "She didn't Henry, I'm ok."

"Can we go home?" He looked up at her with big eyes.

"Yes we can go home."

XXXXXXXX

Regina sighed as she walked towards the bedroom. After getting Henry to ok her using magic she had placed a protection spell around the house. It had then taken her several hours to get him calm enough to go to sleep. She hated that he was so scared and wanted more then anything to take his fear away.

James looked up when he saw her walk in. "Henry finally asleep?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He stood up as she walked into his arms. "You really scared me today Regina." He stroked her hair as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know, I'm sorry. It looks like we will all be living on edge now that my mother is here."

He pulled back and led her to bed. He pulled back the covers as she shrugged out of her robe and climbed in. He laid down beside her and wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled into his chest. "Did she tell you what she wants?"

"Me." She felt him tense a bit at her answer and went on. "She wants me back. She said she wants us to start over."

"Do you think that's really all it is?"

"I want it to be. I want more then anything for her to love me enough to want to give up her need for power and control to have a relationship with me." She sighed as she traced her fingers along his chest.

"Do you think she can though? Her thirst for power has been a part of her for so long. Do you really think she can change now?" He asked stroking her back lightly.

She looked up at him resting her chin on his chest. "I did."

He smiled down at her. "Yes you did."

She shifted up and brought her lips down to his. What had started out as light kiss became heated.

James shifted position until she was on her back and he hovered over her never parting from her lips. When they broke apart for air he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you Regina, I don't think I could survive ever loosing you."

Her heart pounded, she knew she couldn't survive loosing him which was why she had to do everything in her power to make sure he was safe from her mother. She brought her hands up to his face. "Make love to me James."

He brought his lips back down to hers as he ran his hands along her body. He feathered kisses along her face and neck as he took the hem of her night gown in his hands and pushed it upwards. She shifted her weight so that he could pull it up and over her head. He continued to shower her body with kisses trailing his mouth down between her breasts and across her stomach. She let out a soft moan as his mouth finally made its way to her breast and took the rock hard nipple into his mouth as he gave his attention to the other with his hand.

"James." She breathed out. "Now, I need you now."

He moved quickly removing her panties then removing his own boxers, before positioning himself between her legs and kissing her again. He looked into her eyes as he filled her. "I love you so much Regina."

Tears stung her eyes as he looked at her with more love then she had ever imagined she would have in her life. "I love you James."

He didn't take his eyes off her face as he moved inside her. He watched the pleasure come over her face when she came and he crushed his lips down to hers as he followed.

XXXXXXXX

He woke up to the faint sound of knocking. James turned to look at the clock seeing it was just a little past seven. He tried to move to get up but the brunette that was currently laying half on top of him made it impossible.

"Regina." He whispered as she stirred. "Someone's at the door."

She lifted her head sleepily. "Who could it possibly be this early?"

James stood when she had rolled off him. "Only one way to find out." he said as he pulled on his jeans and grabbed a shirt as he headed downstairs.

He pulled the door open to find his daughter standing on the other side of it. "Emma, what brings you here so early? Is something wrong?"

"No, well, not really anyway." Emma let out a breath. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Of course." He stepped back as she came through the door, just as Regina was coming down the stairs in her robe.

Emma looked up at her and nodded. "Regina."

"Hello Emma." She looked between James and his daughter. "Were you needing to speak with James? I could leave you two alone."

"No actually, I need to talk to both of you." Emma said.

Regina joined them at the bottom of the stairs. "Would you like to go in the living room?"

Emma nodded and followed them in. Once they were all seated she began.

"I have to leave town for a little while." She explained to them about her deal with Gold and how he had showed up at the apartment the night before demanding that she leave with him. "So now it appears that I am going to have to go to New York to help find his son."

James and Regina had listened to her story in silence and James finally spoke. "I don't like this Emma. I don't trust Gold."

"Like it or not James, no one breaks a deal with Gold." Emma stated.

Before James could speak Regina placed a hand on his arm. "Emma's right James. Breaking a deal with Gold would be much more dangerous then just following through with it. Besides if he leaves town he won't have magic. Emma would be safe. Safer then she will be here with my mother wondering around town."

James looked from Regina to Emma. "I still don't like it."

Emma let out a breath. "James I appreciate the concern but I can take care of myself, and I really don't think that Gold will do anything to hurt me." She looked back to Regina. "I would like to say goodbye to Henry."

"I'll go get him." James started to stand but Regina placed a hand on his arm stopping him. She turned back to Emma.

"Ms. Swan…" She shook her head, old habits. "Emma." she let out a breath. "I think maybe it would be a good idea if you took Henry with you."

Emma gaped at her. "What?"

"I can't be sure what my mother's plans are which means I can't be sure that she won't go after Henry. Of course I will do everything in my power to protect him, but my mother is very powerful. She wants me to herself which means she won't hesitate to go after everything I love. As long as Henry is in Storybrooke he isn't completely safe." she finished as James took her hand.

Emma didn't know what to say. She herself had thought about asking to bring Henry to keep him far away from Cora, but never thought in a million years that Regina would go for it. "I…of course I will take him, but how will we convince him to go?" When Regina only raised an eyebrow Emma continued. "In case you haven't noticed he hasn't exactly wanted to leave your side lately and when he was finally convinced to do so yesterday he ended up terrified that you would be hurt by your mother."

"Leave that to me." she smiled lightly. "Just promise me right now that you will keep my son safe."

"I will protect him with my life." Emma promised.

"I'll go wake him up." Regina stood and walked up the stairs.

XXXXXXXX

Once Henry was awake and had eaten a bowl of cereal the adults took him into the living room and sat him down. He had been confused when he had gotten up to find Emma there, but hadn't asked any questions. He wasn't sure he was going to like whatever it was they were about to tell him.

"Henry" Regina started. "Mr. Gold has requested that Emma accompany him to New York to help him find his son."

Henry looked at Emma. "You have to leave?"

Emma nodded. "Only for a little while."

"Henry" Regina brought his attention back to her. "I want you to go with them."

"What?! NO! I can't leave now! Not while you are in danger from your mother!" Henry said defiantly. He looked back to Emma "Do you have to go now? Couldn't you wait until mom is safe again? You're the savior! She might need your help."

"Henry I wish I could." Emma said "But I made a deal with Gold and I have to go."

"Sweetheart I need for you to go with Emma." Regina told him. "I will be better able to deal with whatever plans my mother has if I know you're safe."

Henry shook his head, "But you told me I'm your hero. Who will protect you if I'm not here."

"I will." James said from beside Regina. "I promise you right now Henry that I will protect your mom with my life."

Henry looked back at Regina and she smiled. "See? Of course I would love to have my handsome white knight here" she leaned in and kissed Henry on the cheek then jerked her thumb towards James "But I guess this guy will do." she winked at Henry who gave her a small smile.

"I'm gonna miss you." Henry's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm gonna miss you too baby, but you won't be gone that long and I'll be waiting for you when you come home" she ruffled his hair. "And I better get a souvenir! Now come on. Lets go get your bag packed."

It didn't take long to get Henry packed up and before Regina knew it they were standing at the curb loading up Emma's car. She bent down to her knees in front of him as she pulled his coat tighter around him. "I love you so much my sweet boy."

Henry leaned in and wrapped his arms around her shoulder's "I love you too Mom."

Regina held back the tears as she hugged her son tight to her. She pulled back again to look at her son. "You be good for Emma, no running off! You stay with her the whole time."

Henry shook his head. "I promise." When Regina stood up he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his face into her.

Regina looked over to see James talking with Emma and smiled a little when he pulled her into a hug. "Are you stopping by to tell your mother goodbye on your way out?" He asked Emma.

She nodded. "Yes I told her I would before I left town."

He brought his hand up to her cheek. "Be careful."

She smiled at him. "I will."

He turned to Henry and pulled the boy into a hug just as Emma turned to Regina. "I promise Regina, I will keep him safe."

Regina sighed. "I know you will."

She opened the car door for Henry leaning in and giving him one last kiss before he climbed in the car. "I love you my boy."

"I love you too Mom."

She shut the door behind him and continued to smile until they drove away. The minute she could no longer see the car her smile turned to a sob and she turned into James' arms.

He rubbed her back lightly. "He'll be back Regina."

She nodded her head even as she sobbed against his shoulder already missing her son desperately.

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**A/N Hope you enjoyed. I kind of struggled with this chapter some so please let me know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Thank you to all who read and reviewed! **

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James and Regina walked back in the mansion doors exhausted. It had been a nightmare trying to get the giant to believe that James was not the person that had murdered his family. Then once he had shrunk, it had taken almost as long to convince him that Regina had not been the evil witch who had sent him after James to begin with. Apparently her mother wasn't finished with her impersonations yet.

Regina collapsed onto the couch. She'd had an early start that morning and at the moment felt like she could sleep for a year. James sat next to her and pulled her into his arms so her head was resting against his shoulder.

"Long day." He tilted his head to rest against hers.

"Yes." She sighed out. "I guess it was wishful thinking on my part, hoping that my mother wouldn't go after you. I should have known she would."

He leaned in and kissed her hair. "I'm ok Regina."

She shifted to look up at him. "It doesn't change the fact that my mother went after you because of me."

"I'm pretty sure she would have come after me anyway." He rubbed her back.

"Maybe, but she's going to be all the more determined because I love you." she rested her hand against over his heart comforted by the rhythm of his heartbeat.

He knew she was thinking of Daniel and rested his hand over hers. "I'm going to be ok Regina."

"You can't know that for sure. You shouldn't be anywhere near me."

She tried to move back from him but he held her tight. "What good would it do for me to be away from you? She already knows we're in love. Seems to me if we were apart we would both be in more danger." He leaned in to kiss her. "At least this way we can protect each other."

Regina sighed. She had been wrestling with her secret all day, if she told him she knew that he would put his own life in even more danger for her, but looking into his eyes she knew she couldn't keep it from him. "James" she pulled back a little to look at him. "I need to tell you something."

He looked down at her and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "What is it?"

"You know how I left early really early this morning?" She asked and he nodded. "Well, um, I went to the doctor."

James furrowed his brow a bit. "The doctor?"

Regina nodded. "Every since the day we brought Emma and Snow back I haven't really felt very well."

He shifted on the couch and faced her fully. "The magic you took in?" he asked and she nodded. "Regina why didn't you tell me? You should have went to the doctor's sooner." she started to speak, but he continued. "Are you ok? What did he say?"

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. You have enough on your mind without worrying about me being a little sick and it turns out that it actually has nothing to do with the magic that I took in, although that didn't help matters."

"So then what is it?"

She took a deep breath. "James…I'm pregnant."

His eyes went wide as he took in what she had just told him. "You're…?" he drifted off in shock.

She nodded nervously. "With everything that has been going on I didn't realize…" she let out a breath. "I'm almost nine weeks." Her eyes hadn't left his face. "Will you please say something?"

"You're pregnant?" a slow smile spread across his face. "We're having a baby?"

She nodded allowing a smile of her own. "Yes."

He took her face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss to her lips then pulled her into his arms. "I love you so much Regina." When he pulled back he had tears in his eyes.

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. "I love you too." She pressed her face into his neck and sighed. "My mother can't find out James. We have to figure out how to deal with her." She pulled back again to look at him. "This changes things."

He let out a breath. "Regina I'm not going to let anything happen to you or our baby." He brought her hand up to his lips. "It's been a long day. How about we head up to bed?"

She nodded as she let him lead her up the stairs. James glanced at her as she changed into her pajama's. She looked exhausted. He knew how afraid she was of her mother and he knew that this pregnancy was probably amplifying that fear. One thing was certain. Cora would not be pleased to hear about this child.

He climbed into bed beside her and propped his head up on his hand as he brought the other to her face. "Hey, It's ok to be happy." He leaned in to kiss her and brought his hand down to rest on her stomach and smiled at her. "We have a baby in here Regina."

She smiled back as she rested her hand on his. "I am happy. I'm so happy it scares me." Her eyes filled with tears. "James I'm terrified. What if my mother tries to hurt our baby?"

"I'm not going to let that happen Regina." He leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "How about for this moment we pretend like there is no danger, there is nothing threatening our family." He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Let's enjoy it."

She gave a wide smile even as tears fell from her eyes. "We're having a baby James."

He grinned and placed another kiss on her lips, then lifted her shirt and placed a gentle kiss on her still flat stomach before resting his hand there.

"What do you want it to be?" she asked him.

"Doesn't matter." he grinned up at her. "As long as it looks like you."

"Do you think Henry will be happy?" she wondered.

"Yes, I think he will like the idea of having a little brother or sister to protect." He placed another gentle kiss on her lips. "I love you."

She smiled as she brought her hands up to his face. "I love you too."

He laid his head on her stomach as they both fell into a peaceful sleep.

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The phone rang waking both James and Regina. When Regina glanced at the clock she saw it was just a little after midnight. They hadn't been asleep long.

She picked up her phone to see it was Emma calling.

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

She heard Henry's voice on the other end of the phone and a wide smile came to her face. "Hi baby. You're up late. How are you enjoying New York?" She smiled at James as he laid on his side next to her.

"I wanna come home." Henry said.

"Henry you just got there. Give it a little time. I'm sure once you have found Rumple's son you will have a chance to go sight seeing and have some fun."

"We found his son Mom and he's…" Henry stopped and Regina thought she heard a sniff on the other end of the phone.

"He's what Henry?"

"He's my father." Henry blurted out.

"What?!" Regina shot up in bed as James looked at her in confusion.

"Emma told me that my father was this fireman that died saving people, but really he's this guy named Neil and he was a thief and he left her to take the fall for something he did and it put her in jail, but it turns out this guy is actually Rumple's son." She heard the sob clearly this time. "Emma lied to me."

"Henry…" Regina had no idea what to say. Her son's father was the son of Rumpelstiltskin? Shit! Regina thought to herself. "Sweetheart have you talked to this man?"

"Yes. I talked to him after I found out and he seems…I don't know ok I guess." Henry let out a shaky breath. "I just want to come home now Mom. I wanna see you."

Regina's heart broke at her son's words. "Ok sweetheart. Let me talk to Emma for a second."

"Ok" she heard Henry hand the phone over to Emma.

"Regina?" Emma voice came over the phone.

"Ms. Swan, do you want to tell me what in the hell is going on there?" Regina demanded.

Emma let out a breath. "Regina I…this is the last thing I expected to happen…I never thought I would see him again."

Regina tried to ignore the crack she heard in Emma's voice. "So it's true then? The bastard who helped ruin my life is my son's grandfather?"

"Yes."

"When will you be coming home Ms. Swan?"

"I don't know. I want to go now, but Gold isn't ready. He wants to stay and try to get his son to talk to him. He doesn't want me to leave without him."

"Henry wants to come home." Regina said flatly. "And I want him home, so you just tell Gold where to stuff it and bring my son back to me!"

"Can I do that?" Emma asked. "I mean, would that be breaking the deal?"

"You went to New York, you found his son. Your end is held up Ms. Swan. Bring my son home."

Emma let out a breath. "Ok, I will get on the next flight out." she paused for a moment. "Regina?"

"Yes?" Regina said impatiently

"I'm sorry."

Regina relaxed a little. "Just bring my son home Emma."

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Emma sighed as she drove across the town line glad to be back home. Henry had hardly said two words to her since finding out about Neil and she felt terrible. He had compared her to Regina saying that she used to lie to him too, but went on to say that at least she had stopped, but Emma hadn't, she continued to lie and pretend she was good. His words had cut her deep and she wasn't sure how to fix things now.

Henry saw everything so black and white. It didn't matter that she had been trying to protect him from the truth. All he saw was that she lied and in his book of good and bad, right and wrong that made her the bad guy. Emma felt a surge of sympathy for Regina, now understanding what she had gone through when Henry thought of her as the enemy. She glanced at Henry who was slouched in the passenger seat with his arms folded. He had forgiven Regina, Emma thought with a surge of hope. If he could forgive his mom for everything surely he could forgive her too. Maybe after he had some time to think about it.

Leaving New York had been a fight. Gold had wanted her to stay and Neil wanted to get to know his son. Emma was furious with Neil for the way he had blurted out the question of Henry being his. He hadn't even given her a chance to break the news to him gently. She had lied to Henry about his father because she didn't want him to know that he was an asshole and a coward. She supposed he would figure all that out though if he spent any time with him at all. Neil had been furious when he found out Henry had been adopted by The Evil Queen (thank you Gold for sharing that piece of information) and had started making all kinds of ridiculous threats. She let out a sigh. What was she going to do? The truth was she didn't want him anywhere near her son. The way he had been completely unconcerned about Henry's feelings when he announced he believed he was his father, the way he had shrugged her off so callously when she mentioned him leaving her alone and heart broken. He hadn't changed at all.

She looked back over to Henry as they pulled up to the Regina's. He got out of the car without saying a word to her. She sighed as she followed him to the door.

"Regina, you're going to wear a hole in the floor." James told her as he watched her pace the living room. Regina had explained what she knew of the situation, but she wanted details and she wanted her son. She practically ran to the door when she heard the car door slam.

When she pulled the door open Henry was half way up the walk. The minute he saw her he ran to her full out and threw his arms around her waist. "Mom! I missed you so much!"

She wrapped her arms tight around him as she kissed his hair. "Hi sweetheart. I missed you too." She looked over his head to see Emma walking slowly up the walk looking as if she had just gone a few rounds with an ogre. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her and she couldn't exactly blame her for lying to Henry either. She had been up most of the night thinking about it with the limited information she had on the situation. It wasn't exactly as if she could throw stones. She had lied to Henry as well, and for not nearly as noble of a cause. She had lied to protect herself. She couldn't blame Emma for wanting to keep it from Henry that his father was a lying thief who had her thrown in jail for a crime she didn't commit.

Regina knew that in Henry's world of good and evil Emma had just become the bad guy, and she knew better then anyone how it felt to love someone so deeply who thought you were the enemy.

She stepped back from the door pulling Henry with her. "Come in, Emma."

"Does she have to stay?" Henry asked. "I don't want to talk to her right now."

Regina saw the tears form in Emma's eyes before looking down at her son. "Well I do want to talk to her. I know your upset Henry, but no matter what has happened I will not permit you to be rude." Regina took Henry's face in her hands even has he furrowed his brow in anger. "I know you're angry, but I also know that you love Emma, and she loves you. Sometimes when we are upset we can say words that really hurt the other person's heart and once you say it you can't take it back. I don't want you to say something to Emma that you're going to regret later."

Henry's eyes filled with tears and she pulled him back into her kissing him on his head. He pulled back to look at her. "Can I go upstairs please?"

Regina sighed and nodded. "I will be up in minute. Give me a sec to talk to Emma."

Henry nodded as he ran up the stairs.

James had come into the room and wrapped an arm around Emma trying to comfort her.

Regina turned from watching Henry move up the stairs and looked at Emma. "Would you like to sit down in the living room?"

"No." Emma pulled away from James and started to pace just as Regina had been doing earlier. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea that Rumple's kid would end up being Henry's… Oh God." Emma sucked in a breath. Damn it Emma! You are not going to break in front of Regina Mills she scolded herself. "I never wanted Henry to find out about his father. I never wanted him to know who he was. That he was a thief that left me alone to take the fall for his crimes." Emma said and cursed herself for the tears that she felt falling from her eyes. "I never wanted him to know that I was stupid enough to believe that a man like that could actually love me!" She let out a sob and turned back to Regina. "I lied to him because I wanted him to think his father was a hero. I wanted him to believe that his father was a good man!" She said as the tears fell down her face.

Regina didn't know what to say. She looked at Emma who was trying her best to not fall apart but failing miserably and she realized that she wasn't just upset because Henry was angry. This man had broken her heart and seeing him again had shaken her. Before Regina could even think about what she was doing she moved forward and wrapped her arms around Emma.

Emma stiffened at first but the act of kindness from the woman who once hated her caused the dam to break. Emma let out a sob even as she relaxed against Regina's shoulder and wrapped her arms around the other woman.

James stood back watching wide eyed as the woman he loved comforted his daughter. He had started to move towards Emma when she began to cry, wanting to take her in his arms and do his best to take her pain away. He wanted to kill this bastard Neil for breaking his baby's heart.

Oh God I've gone soft, Regina thought to herself even as she stroked Emma's hair in a gesture of comfort. All she knew was that she felt a greater understanding for this woman standing in front of her…the woman who gave her Henry. She wanted to offer her what comfort she could.

"He hates me Regina. He's so angry with me." Emma sobbed onto Regina's shoulder.

"He will forgive you Emma." Regina said softly and pulled back to look at her. "If he can forgive me for the truly horrible things I've done. He will forgive you too. Give it time"

"I've done some pretty horrible things myself Regina. I've disappointed him. I'm supposed to be the savior and I let him down."

"Emma I'm his mother and I let him down. Unfortunately Henry is going to have to learn that no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and does things they regret. Even the good guys." Regina had kept her hands on Emma's shoulders as she talked to her. "He has forgiven me because he believes I have switched to the "good" side, but even though I may no longer be The Evil Queen that doesn't mean that I'm not still going to make mistakes. He has to learn eventually that the world isn't always black and white."

Emma nodded. "Thank you." she whispered.

Regina gave a soft smile. "I will talk to Henry."

Emma sniffed and smiled back. "Really Regina, Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Emma turned to walk towards the door and allowed her father envelop her into a hug before leaving. He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Call if you need anything, ok."

"Ok thanks Ja…Dad." she finished. He smiled as tears formed in his eyes and he kissed her again before she walked out the door.

When he had closed the door behind her he turned to Regina and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for doing that for my daughter just now."

Regina sighed. "Well I know what it's like to be the bad guy in Henry's mind. It's not an easy place to be.

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Henry heard the soft knock on his door. He had been thinking about his mother's words every since he got up to his room.

"Yeah?"

Regina poked her head in the door. "Can I come in?"

Henry turned to look at her and nodded.

She sat down beside him on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Henry sighed. "I don't know. I'm still mad at Emma for lying."

Regina let out a sigh. "You said you talked to Neil. What did you think of him?'

Henry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Henry I know that you're upset with Emma right now, but I think she lied because she wanted to protect you."

"Protect me from what?"

"I think that's a question you will need to ask her." Regina smoothed back his hair.

"How do I know she won't lie again?"

"I don't think she will make the same mistake twice. If you ask her I think she will tell you the truth."

"She was supposed to be one of the good guys but she lied." Henry said stubbornly.

"Henry, everyone makes mistakes…even the good guys. No one is perfect. We have all done things we regret. Just because you make a mistake it doesn't make you bad forever. It just means you have to try to do better next time."

He leaned into her and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Mom?"

"Yes baby?"

"When you said early that when people say things when they're angry that it can hurt the other persons heart…" Henry stopped already knowing the answer to his question but decided to ask it anyway. "When I said all those things about you being evil and saying you weren't my mom…that hurt your heart didn't it?"

Regina's eyes filled with tears at the memories and she let out a breath. "Yes Henry it did."

He looked up at her and saw the tears in her eyes. "I can't ever take those words back can I?"

"No, but you have apologized for them and I have forgiven you. I understood your reasons for saying them Henry but it didn't stop them from hurting."

"I feel so bad for saying them."

"I know that's why I stopped you before you said something mean to Emma. I didn't want you to feel guilty for it later." she told him.

Henry nodded understanding. He placed his had over his mother's heart. "I'm sorry I hurt your heart Mom. I love you so much."

She smiled. "I love you to sweetheart." She pulled him into a hug. "And you don't have to worry. My heart is better now."

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**Hope you all liked this chapter. Had some writers block. I'm not sure what my problem was but I felt like I was writing in a fog and kinda derped my way through it lol. Hopefully it's better then I think it is.**

**Reviews please! **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Thanks to all who read and reviewed! Your reviews are so helpful and I loved reading them.**

**I apologize in advance for the long author not, but wanted to clear some things up.**

**I am going to answer some reviews I got about Neal hate and hopefully explain where I was coming from in the last chapter. To be honest I really haven't decided what I think about Neal yet. We haven't really had a chance to get to know him. What I do know is he left Emma to take the fall for a crime he committed. I get she was supposed to go back and break the curse, but could he not have just left her? Why send her to jail? I also didn't like the way he acted in Manhattan, first when he blurted out that he believed Henry to be his without considering that maybe it would be better to tell the boy more gently. Then when he basically laughed and shrugged off Emma when she talked of how much he hurt her…not cool. I think Emma had reason to be **_**very**_** angry with him and I understand her not wanting Henry to know about him. Whatever the reason, he did break her heart and she is probably afraid he will do the same to Henry.**

**That being said I do want to point out that Henry hasn't said much about him one way or the other and neither has Regina. Yes Regina was pissed that Rumple was her son's grandfather but has not said anything about Neal himself. She is much more open then she used to be and hopefully Neal fans will be pleased with this chapter. As far as Henry is concerned, it will take time for him to get to know Neal and decide what he thinks of him. I myself am an adopted child who has met part of my birth family and contrary to popular opinion there is not some instant connection with a person just because they are biologically related to you. That is a myth and to be honest I never really bought it with Henry and Emma either…If this had been a real life situation I believe it would have taken a bit longer to form a bond there. I write things very different from the way they are written on the show because I don't believe the show offers a very good view of relationships between adoptive parents/children and children/birth parents. Just because someone gives birth to a child or is the biological parent does not make them that child's "real" parent. A lifetime of love and care…the life Regina has given to Henry is what makes a REAL parent. **

**I would also like to point out that I write the relationship between Emma and her parents as awkward as well because I believe it should be. Regardless of their reasons Emma was raised alone and has been kicked around a lot. That's not an easy thing to get past as Emma said herself when the curse first broke. Her relationship with her parents is going to take time the same as Henry's will with Neal.**

**Charming hates Neal for no other reason then that he hurt his little girl. A typical father reaction I think. Please remember Neal has just been introduced. Everyone only knows one side of the story so far. It takes time for things to unfold. **

**I'm just trying to write this as honestly as I can and am pulling on some of my own experiences to do so. I don't mean to upset any Neal fans, but I will say that just because he is Henry's birth father does not mean he is going to be automatically trusted by anyone. It will take time just like it does in real life. I can promise he will be given a fair chance.**

**As far as the request to write a Neal/Regina fic I am honored and may do so, but I will need to wait a little longer and get to know him first. I am hoping he doesn't come to town and go all asshole on Regina and try to keep Henry from her. I really DO NOT want to hear one more person tell Regina she is not Henry's mom because it pisses me off to no end! If that happens I'm probably not going to like him. My loyalties are to Regina first, but I may yet become a Neal fan. What I would like to see is him come to town and be willing to give her a chance, maybe because he understands what it is like to be manipulated by his father. It would be nice for Regina to finally have a real ally on the show instead of people who either treat her like shit or want to manipulate her for their own purposes. Maybe I will write a fic for them portraying him this way even if the show doesn't, but for now I don't really want to add another story since I already have two running. Once I bring one to a close I might though!**

**Sorry my note was so long. I just wanted to explain my personal views on Neal at this point and hopefully give Neal fans an idea of where I am trying to go with this. I don't hate him. At this point I'm waiting to see what happens. If he is written like an ass on the show I may change things for my purposes like I do a lot of other things, but he will be given a chance.**

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James watched Regina as she slept. The night before had been rough on everyone. Finding out about his father had shaken Henry and finding out that Emma had lied to him had shaken him more. He had seen Emma as a hero who could do no wrong and finding out that she wasn't invincible had upset him deeply.

Once they had finally gotten Henry to sleep Regina had been up quite a bit longer wondering what all of this would mean for their family. She didn't like the idea of Henry being Rumple's grandchild and James didn't either. That man rarely did anything that didn't benefit him in some way and Regina was very worried that he would want to use Henry for his own purposes, much as he had done with her. She hated the idea of her child being vulnerable to him.

Then there was Neal, Henry's father. What would he expect from this relationship and could he be trusted? Regina had thought that it was at least a good sign that he wanted nothing to do with Rumple but there was still that fear…the fear that he would try to take her son from her. The same fear that had overcome her when Emma came to town. The same fear that had ended up pushing Henry away from her and straight to Emma. She couldn't make the same mistake twice.

He pushed back a strand of hair from her face as he watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful at this moment that he couldn't help but smile a little. The love he felt for her right then overwhelmed him. She was having his baby. He was going to be a father again, but this time he would get to raise his child, watch them grow up. He wished he had been able to do that for Emma. He knew that she had basically been tossed around her whole life. His heart broke for his little girl that had never had the opportunity to be loved by her mom and dad. He did his best to try and make up for that now, but he knew that the past could never be fully forgotten.

A lot had happened in the last few months and none of it had been easy. Maybe after everything with Regina's mother was settled he could take her and Henry on a little vacation, assuming they figured out away to get across the town border without him loosing his memory. He knew Rumple had come up with a potion, but he was thinking more along the line of breaking the curse that caused the memory loss to begin with. It would be nice if people could cross the town border.

Regina stirred a bit as he cuddled in a bit closer to her. She opened her eyes to find him looking at her with a smile on his face. "Good Morning." she smiled at him.

"Good Morning." he leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips. "Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?"

She smiled, "It's been a few hours at least. What were you thinking about just now?" She asked curiously. "You had a smile on your face."

"Lots of stuff, mostly you though, and Henry, and our baby." He grinned at her.

She smiled dreamily when he mention the baby. "I still can't believe it's real. That we are really having a baby."

He brought his hand down to rest on her stomach. "I can't wait to meet him or her."

She gave him a bright smile. "Me either."

He leaned in giving her another kiss. "I love you so much Regina."

She smiled at him as she stroked his face. "I love you too, You're my dream come true."

"And you're mine."

"When do you think we should tell Henry?" she asked him.

"I don't know." He said honestly. "On one hand I was thinking we should tell him soon to cheer him up a little after everything that happened in the last few days, but then again maybe because of all that stuff we should wait."

Regina was silent for a moment. "I think we should tell him. I don't want him to think we were keeping it from him, and I think he will like the idea of being a big brother."

"Then we'll tell him." He smiled at her.

She nodded and looked at the clock and saw it was almost 8. "Are you hungry?"

He grinned at her. "Yes, but not for breakfast."

She smiled as he snaked his hand up under her night shirt. "Well then I guess I better satisfy your hunger." She said as she rolled onto her back and pulled him down to her in a passionate kiss.

XXXXXXXX

Regina was just pouring pancake batter into the skillet when Henry came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. "Good Morning sweetheart."

"Morning." He mumbled not all the way awake yet.

James walked in just as Henry was sitting on a stool. "Hey Henry." he greeted him.

"Hey James."

"Who was that on the phone?" Regina asked, referring to the phone call he had gotten right before Henry came downstairs.

"Emma." He pretended not to notice when Henry stiffened a bit. "She was just calling to check on things."

"You mean to check on me?" Henry stated flatly.

"She loves you Henry and was worried about you." James told him.

Henry let out a breath but didn't say anything. Regina brought a stack of pancakes to the kitchen island setting them down then turned to grab the syrup from the cabinet. Henry stayed silent through most of the meal despite James and Regina's efforts to make conversation.

After breakfast was over Henry started to make his way upstairs. "Henry?" Regina called out.

"Yeah?" Henry answered.

"Why don't we all go into the living room? David and I have something we would like to tell you."

"Mom, if you want to tell me that I should talk to Emma, I will, I just need some more time to think about things." Henry sighed.

Regina nodded her understanding. "It's not about Emma honey, it's about you, me and James." she smiled at him.

"Ok." Henry nodded and followed her into the living room and sat down in the chair across from his mother and James.

Regina suddenly felt nervous. She hoped she was doing the right thing telling him about this now. She hoped he would be happy.

"Henry, David and I got some good news yesterday…" She started. "We're hoping that you will think its good too." She smiled at him a little nervously.

Henry narrowed his eyes. It wasn't often that he saw his mother nervous. "Well, what it?"

Regina swallowed. "Henry, You're going to be a big brother."

Henry's eyes widened and he stared in shock for a moment. "You're pregnant?"

Regina nodded. "Yes." she looked at him wishing she could read what was going on in his mind.

Henry looked at his mother and saw the smile on her face. He wanted more then anything for her to be happy and she wanted him to be happy about the baby, but truthfully he was a little worried. Instead of voicing his worry he gave her a smile. "I'm really going to be a big brother?"

Her smile grew bigger and she nodded. "You are. I'm about nine weeks along." she placed her hand on her still flat stomach. She stood and walked over to Henry sitting herself on the arm of the chair he was sitting in and she stroked his hair. "It's been a long time since I've had a baby in the house. I'm definitely going to need some help."

Henry leaned into her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. It wasn't that he wasn't happy it was just… "You're going to be ok right?" he blurted out. When Regina looked at him in confusion he continued. "I just mean with your mother here and things being so dangerous. This isn't going to put you in more danger is it?"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to your mom Henry." David spoke for the first time from the couch.

Henry let out a sigh of relief hoping that David was right and his mother would be safe. "So what do you think you're going to have?" He let a small grin come to his face.

Regina smiled as she continued to stroke his hair. "I don't know, but whether it's a boy or a girl I know he or she will need their big brother around to protect them."

Henry sat a little straighter as he always did when his mom made him sound like a hero. Soon he would have a little brother or sister to protect. He would have to teach them the things that big brothers were supposed to teach their siblings. What were those things? He wondered to himself. He could also take on the task of reading to them. If this kid was going to grow up in Storybrooke they would have to know who everyone was. Maybe he should start early. Could babies hear when they were still in the womb?

Regina glanced at James as Henry appeared to be deep in thought. James grinned and shrugged. She looked back at her son. "Whatcha thinking about so hard?" She asked him.

"Well I was just thinking that there's a lot this kid is going to have to learn if it's gong to live in Storybrooke. Can babies hear while they're still in your stomach?"

"You know I think I've read that they can. Why?" She asked.

"Cause I'm gonna have to start reading to this kid now. That way he or she can know who everyone in Storybrooke is so it won't be so confusing later." He looked at Regina seriously. "I can read from my book, but there's a lot of people's stories who aren't in there. We will have to add some stuff."

Regina smiled at her son. It always amazed her how sometimes he seemed so grown up and then in the next minute he was like a small child again. She smiled brightly at him. "I think that's a great idea."

"I'm gonna have to find a way to explain our totally messed up family tree! Then there's the fact that this kids parents are the former Evil Queen and Prince Charming! How am I going to explain that one?!" Henry suddenly realized that he had said the last part out loud instead of thinking it. He now realized what his mom meant when she sometimes told him he needed to learn to use his filter. His gaze snapped between his mom and James hoping he hadn't offended either of them.

They both looked at him for a moment before his mother burst into laughter. Henry looked from her to James who was grinning. "You know I hadn't even thought of that." She said to him.

Henry grinned back at them. "Well at least this kid isn't going to have Rumpelstiltskin for a Grandfather." he said wryly.

Regina gave Henry a sympathetic look knowing that this whole situation was still bothering him.

"You never know Henry. Maybe you will mellow him out." James said from the couch as both Henry and Regina turned to look at him with the same look on their faces. If he didn't know Henry was adopted he would have swore in that moment that Henry was Regina's biological child.

Regina turned back to Henry. "It's a nice day out. James has to go the station but why don't you and I walk down to the park?"

Henry's eyes lit up at the thought of getting out of the house and spending some time with his Mom. "Ok! I'm gonna go get changed!" he started to run out the door then stopped and ran back to Regina. "I'm really happy about the baby Mom." he said as he kissed her and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Me too." She whispered an placed a kiss to his hair before he ran up the stairs.

"That went well." James said once Henry was out of earshot.

Regina gave a slight nod. "He's worried." She said. "About what my mother will do about this."

"I think until we figure out how to deal with your mother we're all going to be a little worried." James pulled her into his arms.

XXXXXXXX

As they walked through town on their way to the park Henry was throwing out ideas for names that were being rejected. "You haven't liked any names I have come up with!" he whined.

"Well sweetheart it would help if you could remember that this baby is not going to be a part of King Arthur's Round Table or a comic book hero." Regina looked at him with amusement.

Henry huffed out a breath. "All I'm saying is this kid needs a cool name!" He froze when he saw the two people on the sidewalk.

Regina looked up to find Emma talking to a man. By Henry's reaction she assumed it was Neal. Her first reaction was to grab Henry and take him straight back home, but she thought better of it. It really wouldn't be a bad idea for her to meet the man who had fathered her son.

"I don't want to see them right now." Henry stated.

"Henry…" Regina started to speak but was interrupted when the man glanced up.

"Henry." He smiled at her son. "I was hoping I would see you today." The man walked over to the them who were both eying him a bit warily.

"When did you get here?" Henry asked.

"Just this morning. I wanted to try and spend some more time with you."

Henry looked at his mother who smiled and squeezed his hand with encouragement.

Emma cleared her throat. "Um Neal Cassidy this is Regina Mills, Henry's mother." Emma stated awkwardly looking miserable.

Neal glanced up at Regina and studied her carefully. "Yes, the Evil Queen I've heard so much about."

Regina's back straightened some as Emma grimaced. Henry stepped in front of Regina. "She's not the Evil Queen anymore. Now she's just my mom!" He said defensively.

Neal looked at Henry a little confused. He was very defensive of this woman even though she had done horrible things. He wondered why. He had never been able to justify the things his father did. "I'm sorry." Neal held up his hands in a truce, "Just repeating what I heard."

"Well considering you may have gotten some of your information from Gold I would take everything you hear with a grain of salt." Emma stated from beside him. She had been trying to explain the complicated family dynamics to Neal before they had walked up.

Henry relaxed a little and Regina laid her hand on his shoulder. "How long do you plan on being in town Mr. Cassidy?" Regina asked.

"I'm not really sure yet." he said addressing Regina again. "I'm hoping that I can spend a little time getting to know Henry though." He looked back down to Henry. "I was going to ask if maybe you might be interested in grabbing a pizza or something."

Henry looked at Neal for a moment then looked up to Regina who smiled and nodded, letting him know it was ok if he wanted to. He didn't want to leave her alone though. "Can my mom come?"

Neal looked at Regina unsure, but wanted to spend time with Henry enough that he was willing. "Sure."

"Henry." Regina knelt down to him. "I'm sure that Mr. Cassidy would like to spend some time getting to know you not me. Why don't you go with him and I will eat here at Granny's. He can drop you off back here with me."

Henry looked back to Neal unsure if he was ready to spend time alone with him yet. He didn't even know him. He let out a breath. "Ok."

Neal smiled. "Ok, I'll bring him back here then?" he asked and Regina nodded.

"Take care of my son Mr. Cassidy."

He looked back up at her. "I will."

Regina watched them as they walked away.

"What the hell Regina?!" Emma stated from beside her.

She turned to look at her. "What?"

"You're just gonna let him go with him?" Emma gestured to them.

"Should I not trust this man?" Regina asked.

"No you shouldn't trust him! He had me locked up for a crime I didn't commit!"

Regina looked at Emma with sympathy. "Yes, but that was ten years ago Emma, and it's possible he may have changed. He is Henry's father and because of that I think we have to give him a chance."

"Really? Really Regina?! You're going to take the high road now! Where was this woman when I came to town?!" Emma asked in frustration. "Now that I want the bitchy mayor to come out and take a bite out of the asshole who left me in jail you're just going to be all sweet and understanding?!" She fumed.

"Emma, I have learned from my mistakes and hopefully you can learn from my mistakes as well. Trust me it would be better then you making them yourself." Regina sighed. "If Henry and your Father hadn't believed in me…If they hadn't given me the chance to change I wouldn't have been able to do it."

Emma huffed out a breath and glared at the infuriating woman standing across from her.

"Why don't I buy you lunch Ms. Swan?" Regina smiled at her.

Emma sighed. "How many damn times do I have to tell you to quit calling me that?" She said as she followed Regina into the diner.

XXXXXXXX

Emma and Regina sat outside the diner waiting for Neal to drop off Henry. They had talked some more about the whole situation. Regina's main concern was what Rumple might be planning for her son. No way was he going to find out he was Henry's grandfather without having some plan for her little boy.

They both stood up as they saw the pair walking towards them. Henry ran to his mother and hugged her around the waist as she gave him a kiss on the head. "Hey sweetheart, did you have fun?"

"Yeah. Neal was telling me about his life before he came to this world. Did you know he lived in Neverland?!" Henry asked excitedly.

"Really?" Regina glanced at the man who was grinning. "I wouldn't have guessed."

Emma looked from Neal down to Henry. "Did you enjoy your pizza?"

Henry looked at her. "Yeah, it was delicious, cheesy and doesn't lie."

"Henry." Regina said his name in warning to not be rude.

He looked back at Regina about to speak when someone said his name. He looked over to find Grace and Jefferson entering the diner. "Mom, can I go say hi to Grace real quick?" His face turned a little red when he asked.

Regina grinned. "Sure." She smiled as she watched her son run into the diner before turning back to Neal and Emma.

"Well I will say one thing for the kid." Emma stated and Regina looked at her curiously. "He definitely got your sass." She said referring to his earlier comment.

"I take that as a compliment." Regina stated. "He is rather clever with his insults."

"Yeah well, I'm gonna get going." Emma said glancing at Neal who nodded. "Thanks for lunch Regina."

"Sure." Regina gave her a smile. "Give it time Emma."

Emma nodded before walking away.

"So…" Neal said sort of awkwardly. "You're the woman who raised my son."

"Indeed I am." Regina stated sizing him up.

"I have a hard time believing that Henry could love someone so much who set a curse on an entire land." He said bluntly. "But he insists you've changed. He said you gave up magic for him."

Regina stared at the man for a moment shocked at the first part of his statement. "Well Mr. Cassidy I must say it's good to know that my son comes by his lack of filtering what he says honestly." She looked him up and down for a moment. "And yes I did give up magic. For him and myself."

"That's something my father was never able to do." Neal stated somewhat absently. "I guess the fact that you have proves how much you love him." He looked back into Regina's eyes. "And it's pretty obvious that he loves you so I guess I'm willing to give you chance."

He looked at her somewhat shocked when she let out a throaty laugh. "Oh, Mr. Cassidy that's sweet." She patted his arm gently "But make no mistake dear…It is _I_ who am giving _you_ a chance."

She continued to look at him with amusement even as Henry ran out of the restaurant back to them already telling Neal that he needed to come see the castle.

XXXXXXXX

**Hope you all enjoyed. Reviews would be wonderful. They really help me so much!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Thank you to everyone who read favored and reviewed. Finally I'm posting the next chapter! Sorry about the wait. It took me a while to figure out what direction I wanted to go with it. I hope you enjoy! Please Review!**

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Regina turned on her mother when they aparated into what was her old office. "Was that really necessary?!" She asked angrily.

"What difference does that woman's life make to you Regina? I thought you wanted to destroy everything Snow White loves. Besides you are the one who agreed to help me find Rumplestiltskin's dagger." Cora pointed out.

"Yes mother I offered to help you find the dagger, but I did not agree to killing anyone. I told you that I am trying to be better for my son." The truth was Regina wasn't helping her mother at all. She was trying to figure out a way to stop her, but in order to do that she needed to be close to her. The only way to be close to her was to pretend to be on her side. She'd made up a story about wanting to keep Rumple out of Henry's life so that her mother would trust her enough to allow her to help. She had never intended to hurt the woman and had been relieved to place her heart back into her chest. By the time she realized what her mother was doing it had been to late for her to save Johanna.

James was angry with her. He had not wanted her to be anywhere near her mother and was not happy about her plan to "help" her. They had argued about it the whole previous evening and Regina had held firm. It was the only way she could think of that she would know her family would be safe. She needed to protect Henry and James and the life of her baby. If she had no idea what her mother was planning then she wouldn't be able to stop her.

It was difficult being around her mother. Despite everything Cora had ever done to her Regina still loved her desperately. She wanted so much to have a real relationship with her. She wanted her mother to love her. She'd never understood her mothers distance from her, why she had never seemed to have love for her as other mothers did for their children. It had been even harder for her to understand once she had adopted Henry. She loved him so much from the instant he'd been placed in her arms. She would do anything for him and above all else she simply wanted him to be happy. It made her feel like she had failed as a daughter in some way that her mother never had those feelings for her. What was wrong with her?

Now her mother had the dagger and Regina needed to figure out a way to get it from her before she could hurt anyone.

"So what is the plan now?" Regina asked.

"All in good time my dear. For the moment I believe I am going to go have a rest. It has been a dreadfully long day." Cora said as she disappeared into a poof of smoke.

Regina felt sick to her stomach. Even after her efforts today she still had no clue what her mother was planning. She had to find James.

XXXXXXXX

James had been comforting Snow every since her former nanny had been thrown from the clock tower. He'd taken her back to her apartment where she had cried then become angry.

"How could they do this?!" She paced back and forth. "As if they haven't taken enough from me already!"

"Snow…" James started.

"Don't you dare take up for her James! She killed Johanna!" Snow raged.

"She didn't kill her Snow, Cora did. Regina is trying to get information on what her mother has planned and unfortunately the only way she sees to do that is to pretend to help her mother." James finished.

Snow stared at him completely shocked for a moment. "How is it that she has you so completely fooled?" She asked her voice shaking with anger. "She is a murderer James! Or have you forgotten that?"

"I know what she has done in the past Snow, but I also know that she has put all that behind her. She's on our side."

Emma who had been quiet through the exchange finally spoke. "Has she found out anything about what exactly it is that Cora wants to get Rumple to do?"

"Not yet. She only made contact with her yesterday. She convinced Cora to let her help by explaining that Rumple now had a connection to Henry and doesn't want him having any power over her son, which is partially true. I think her real plan is to try and get the dagger from Cora somehow though."

"So Cora can really get Rumple to do anything that she wants?" Emma asked a bit worriedly.

"Now that she has the dagger, yes. Unless Regina can find some way to get it away from her." James said back.

"You know, I can understand how you would be fooled by Regina James, seeing as you aren't exactly thinking with your head, but Emma surely you can see that she is lying! She isn't on the side of good! She doesn't even know the meaning of the word! She is evil! She always has been and always will be!" Snow said with frustration.

Before Emma could speak Henry pounded down the stairs. "Stop calling my mom evil!" he yelled at Snow. "She isn't evil anymore!"

Emma rolled her eyes when she realized he had been eavesdropping. "Kid, how much of that did you hear?"

Henry narrowed his eyes at Emma still angry about her lying to him. He hadn't wanted to come here today, but his mother had insisted and now he knew why. "Enough to know that my mom is putting herself in danger to try and stop Cora and you keep calling her evil." he glared at Snow. Then turned on James. "How can you let her do this? Especially now that she needs to protect the baby too?!"

"THE WHAT?!" Emma spoke up from behind Henry as Snow simply turned and glared at him.

"Um…yeah, Emma we were going to tell you, just with everything that's been going on we haven't had a chance sorry, but your going to be a big sister." He tried a light hearted smile as Emma just stared at him wide eyed.

"I hadn't even thought of that connection yet!" Henry spoke up. "My mom is having my other moms sibling! I'm going to need to make charts to explain this kids family to them!" Henry sighed as he sat down at the table. "James we have to get my mom away from Cora. I don't want her to get hurt." Henry looked up at James with worried eyes.

"Henry trust me your mom is not going to let anything happen to the baby she is carrying. She will be extra careful." James was trying to reassure Henry as much as he was trying to reassure himself. He was not a fan of Regina's plan to get close to Cora.

"I wanna see her." Henry stated as he looked up at James.

"Ok, why don't we head to the dinner for some lunch. I will call her and see if she can meet us." James said.

Henry nodded. Even as James' phone began to ring. He looked at the caller id to see it was her.

"Regina?"

"James, I did not intend for Johanna to be hurt. If I had realized what my mother planned to do I would have done something to stop it. I didn't realize what was happening until it was to late." He heard her sigh. "I'm so sorry."

"I know." he said simply and she felt relief surge through her at the simplicity of it. He still trusted her. "Henry and I were just gonna go to Granny's. He really wants to see you. Do you think you could meet us?"

"Yes. I'm on my way now." She answered.

"Ok. So are we."

"James…" She paused before hanging up. "Will you tell Snow I'm sorry about what happened. I really wish I had been able to save her."

"I'll tell her." he assured her. "I love you, Regina."

He heard her sigh. "I love you too."

James hung up the phone and walked back towards the kitchen and said to Henry. "That was your mom. She's going to meet us at Granny's."

Henry nodded and stood up to go put on his coat.

James turned to Snow, "Regina wants you to know she's sorry about what happened with Johanna. If she had realized what her mother planned to do sooner she would have tried to save her."

Snow turned and pinned him with an icy stare. "I'm sure. Go have lunch with your precious new family Charming." She said it with more malice then he had ever heard from her.

"I'm sorry Snow."

She simply turned away from him without speaking.

He turned to Emma. "I'll call you if Regina found out anything important about Cora's plans."

Emma nodded. "Ok."

He glanced back at Snow before turning back to her. "Are you gonna be alright?"

She let out a breath. "We'll be fine, it's going to take her some time to get over her anger."

"I know, I only wish I hadn't hurt her so badly." James looked at Emma with sad eyes.

She laid a hand on his arm. "I know."

XXXXXXXX

When Regina walked into the diner she was immediately tackled around the waist by Henry. "Mom!"

"Hi baby." She ran her hands through his hair and leaned down to place a kiss on the top of his head.

Henry kept his arms wrapped around her as he looked up at her. "Are you ok? I don't like that you are spending time with her."

"I'm going to be ok Henry." Regina told him "I need to find out her plans so I can try to stop her."

"But Mom, what if she finds out about the baby and tries to hurt you." He laid his hand on her stomach showing concern for his baby brother or sister.

Regina laid her hand over his. "I won't let that happen Henry. I'm doing this to protect the baby too."

Henry sighed as he took her hand and led her to the booth where James and Neal were sitting. "We ran into Neal when we got here." Henry explained.

Regina glanced from Neal to James, both were sitting awkwardly not speaking. "I can see that." She gave a polite smile. "Good to see you again Mr. Cassidy."

"Please call me Neal. It's nice to see you again as well." He answered her. He'd watched her interaction with Henry and had been surprised by the affection the boy showed to this woman who had been the Evil Queen. It was hard for him to imagine that this woman who had done so many terrible things could be the same woman who smiled down at her son and placed soft kisses on his forehead. He supposed people could change, but found himself wondering why if this woman had been able to do it, why his own father had never been able to.

Regina sat in the booth next to James leaning in to give him a light kiss when he turned to her. Normally they kept public displays of affection to a minimum, but the worry in his eyes had her leaning in and brushing her lips lightly over his. "Hi." She gave him a small smile.

"Hi." He answered back slipping an arm around her, needing to feel the connection.

She shifted her gaze back up to her son. "So what have you been up to today?"

Henry shrugged. "Not much, just sat around Snow's apartment until we came here to meet you."

They all glanced over as James' phone began to ring.

He pulled it out of his pocket to answer as Neal glanced back to Regina. "So I was wondering if maybe you would mind letting me see some old pictures of Henry when he was growing up sometime."

Regina gave him a genuine smile. "Sure. Perhaps we could set up a time that you could come to dinner soon."

He smiled back at her. "I would like that."

"Sure Emma, I'll be right there." They heard James say.

"What's going on?" Regina asked as he put the phone back into his pocket.

"Something has happened at the town line. Rumple apparently went there to wait for Hook knowing that he would come back to Storybrooke when he found they'd left New York. I'm not sure on the details, but Rumple has been hurt." He glanced up at Neal.

"I'm coming with you." Neal said and James nodded.

James leaned down giving Regina a quick kiss. "I love you." He told her as he pulled on his coat.

"I love you too." She give him a small smile. "James." she called out as he was walking out the door. "Please be careful."

He gave her a smile and nodded as he walked out the door.

She looked down when she felt Henry press himself into her side. "Do you thing he'll be ok?" Henry asked.

"I have no doubt." She gave Henry a small squeeze. "If there is one thing I know for sure it is that Rumple has never let anyone get the best of him."

She did have a thought that was worrying her though. If her mother was planning to strike against Rumple the time to do it would be when he is weak. Could she have had something to do with all this?

She turned to the counter where Ruby was standing. "Ruby?" She asked as Ruby looked up at her. "Would you mind to watch Henry for a little while? There is something I need to do."

"Sure." The girl answered.

"No mom, I want to stay with you." Henry said as he looked at his mother. "You're going to see her aren't you? Your mother?"

"Yes Henry I am. I need to make sure that she isn't planning to something while Rumple is weak. I need you to stay here with Ruby."

"But mom, it's not safe for you to be around her." Henry pleaded.

"Henry, I have to protect my family. Now you stay here with Ruby. I will be back in a little while." She placed a kiss to his forehead before taking his pouting face into her hands. "I love you, Henry."

His face softened a little. "I love you too mom, please be careful."

She smiled at him. "I'm always careful." She placed another soft kiss on his cheek before turning to leave the diner.

XXXXXXXX

James, Emma, Snow and Neal had managed to move Rumple back to his shop. Rumple had been waiting for Hook planning to exact his revenge against the man for what he had done to Belle, but he some how ended up on the other side of the town line. He had his charm with him so he still had his memories, but once he crossed it Hook had managed to stab Rumple with his hook the tip of which had been soaked in poison. Now it appeared that Rumple was in fact dying.

James and Emma's phone chirped at the same time indicating they had a text message. They looked at each other when they both glanced at their phones. Emma took Neal by the arm as James indicated they needed to talk in the other room. The three of them walked out leaving Snow tending to Rumple.

"What's going on?" Neal asked once they were in the next room. Emma pulled out her phone and showed him the text from Regina.

_My mother is planning to strike now, I will be with her. Don't hold back on fighting me. I want her to believe I am on her side and I can handle whatever you throw at me. GET THE DAGGER!_

"We have to get ready for them." They walked back to where Rumple was laying and informed him and Snow of what was about to happen.

Emma walked the shop with the protective chalk adding to the magical barrier that Rumple had helped her create. It wasn't long before they heard the sound from outside. The four of them ran back in to face the door. The all braced as the door flew open and Regina and Cora walked into the shop.

Immediately James drew his sword and started towards Cora. With barely a flick of her wrist she sent him flying out the door. Regina made her way towards Emma and wound up holding her against the wall in a magical choke hold, but Emma found the pressure was light enough that she could still breathe. Regina flicked a glance to the knife laying beside them on the counter beside them and Emma immediately understood what she was to do.

She shifted positions and pulled Regina back against her and held the knife lightly to her throat.

"Choose carefully" They heard Neal say and both Emma and Regina felt a flood of relief as they saw the dagger on the ground. Even as Neal made his way to it, Cora glanced away from her daughter and had it magically in her hands again.

"Neal!" Emma shouted out giving Regina a slight shove to the side but being careful so as not to harm the pregnant woman. Neal followed Emma to the back where she once again used the chalk to create another barrier.

Cora began to follow, but stopped clutching at he chest. "Mother what is it?" Regina asked.

"My heart, someone is in your vault with my heart. You need to go." Cora said.

Regina glanced unsurely from the magic barrier to her mother. She didn't want to leave for fear that her mother could break through and use the dagger to become the dark one herself.

"REGINA NOW!" Cora yelled at her.

She glanced back up to the barrier hoping it would hold until she got back. She disappeared into a puff of purple smoke.

With all the chaos no one seemed to notice that Snow had disappeared.

XXXXXXXX

James came to slowly at first until the events of the last few hours came flooding back to him. Then he sat up quickly. He pulled out his phone and punched in Emma's number.

"James?" He heard on the other end.

"Emma. Is everyone ok?" he asked.

"So far but Cora is trying to break through the magic barrier in here to get to Rumple."

"Where is Regina?" he asked

"I don't know. I saw her do her little magic smoke thingy through the door way. I heard Cora say something about her heart." Emma was still trying to catch her breath. "James, is Snow with you?"

"What? No. She isn't with you?"

"No. Do you think she's ok."

James let out a breath. "I don't know, but if Regina was going for Cora's heart then I have a pretty good idea where she was headed. Keep trying to stall Cora. I will get back as fast as I can."

"We'll do our best." Emma said.

"Emma?" James called out before she could hang up the phone. "I love you."

There was silence for a moment before he heard. "I love you too."

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When James got to the cemetery he found Snow on the front step of the mausoleum rocking back and forth. "Snow what happened."

"This isn't who I am, this isn't me." was all she said back to him

He took her lightly by the shoulders. "Snow. What happened? Where's Regina?"

She looked up at him finally. "I had to do it, she was going to kill our family."

James pulled back a little "Snow, what did you do?"

"I held the cursed candle over Cora's heart so when it's placed back into her body she will be the one to die instead of Rumple." Snow finished.

"Snow, where is the heart now?" James asked feeling a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I gave it to Regina. I told her that she should put it back in Cora's body so that she would love her. I told her that her mother could never love her without her heart." Tears poured down her cheeks as she talked.

"YOU WHAT?!" James backed up from her, with a look of horror on his face. "Oh my God, I have to stop her." James turned and ran from the cemetery.

"Charming!" Snow called out running after him.

"Do not speak to me right now Snow." he said as he ran as fast as he could back to Gold's shop.

Time passed in a blur as he prayed that he would get to Regina in time. He arrived at the shop and pulled the door open before running towards the back where Rumple had been. Snow followed closely behind him. "Regina!"

"Regina stop!" He heard Snow echo in the background.

James was not prepared for what he saw when he came to the back room. Regina was on the ground cradling her dead mother in her arms tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Regina." he said softly as he walked up beside her wanting to give her comfort, but she didn't even look at him. She simply sat glaring behind him at Snow.

"You did this." he heard her say in a low voice.

"Baby" He said softly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. But she jerked when he touched her. She bent back over Cora's body and the next thing James knew Regina and her mother had disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

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**Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. As always reviews are very much appreciated. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you for all who read and reviewed. Sorry it has been so long since I have updated on this one. I was dealing with a little writers block on where I wanted to go with this story. I try to keep this story in time with the show so I probably won't update this one again until it's back from the hiatus.**

**The update on this chapter is because I fixed a mistake, if you've already read it nothing changes. Thanks to Corina who pointed out my drink mistake. ;) lol. I was somewhat sleep deprived when I wrote this.**

**I hope you enjoy. Please review.**

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James pulled his truck into the cemetery and sat looking at the mausoleum for a moment. He had checked her house first, but when he didn't find her there he knew she would have come here. His heart ached at the sheer devastation that he'd last seen on her face before she vanished with her mother's body.

He let out a sigh and leaned forward to lay his head on the wheel for a moment. Just last night they had been so happy. She had been happy. This should be one of the happiest times in her life. She had her son back, she was having a baby and they were in love. Why was it that every time she had something good something terrible had to happen to leave her devastated? He wanted nothing more right now then to pull her into his arms and never let go.

Emma and Neal had ran into the shop only minutes after she'd disappeared. They were currently on their way to tell Henry what happened. After a discussion of the best thing to do they figured he had to know the truth…all of it. James wasn't sure how this was going to change things but he knew that it would. Regina had been attempting to make nice with Snow even when Snow was poking at her and trying to piss her off, but James had a feeling that playing nice was over.

What the hell had Snow been thinking? This wasn't like her. James couldn't help but feel personally responsible. If he hadn't left Snow she maybe she wouldn't have been angry enough to do this. It wasn't just the killing of Cora that had been the problem, although that would have been bad enough…the problem was that Snow had used Regina to do it. She had tricked her into killing her own mother.

James stepped out of his truck and starting making his way towards the mausoleum. Emma had been shocked and angry when she found out what her mother had done. She was upset about what this news would do to Henry. Of course the boy didn't know Cora, but he would certainly be worried about his mom. He'd become so protective of her in the last several months and him finding forgiveness for Snow White wasn't going to come easy. Not to mention this was going to shatter his idea of who's good and evil. That fairy tales always have happy endings. James knew Henry had grown up a lot in the last year, but he still had the childlike belief that good always won…that the good guys couldn't be bad. It made James sad that part of his innocence would be taken from him.

James wasn't sure what would happen now. He knew Regina was angry, with good reason. He could only pray that she wouldn't turn back to darkness again. He hoped that having his and Henry's love and love for the baby growing inside her would keep her grounded. He hoped it would keep her from turning back.

He rounded the corner and saw her. She'd apparently conjured a coffin that she'd placed her mother in. She was standing there staring with her hand on top of the box.

"Regina?" He said as he walked slowly towards her. He got no answer, she didn't even turn. "Baby?" he tried again placing his hand on her shoulder.

She didn't turn but finally spoke. "I had her, for a moment I had my mother." She ran her hand lovingly along the coffin. "She smiled at me, she told me I was enough. She really did love me."

James said nothing. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed a kiss to her hair.

"All this time she only needed her heart. She would have loved me if she'd had her heart." She let out a sob and leaned her head forward, resting it on the coffin. "Why didn't I think of that? Why do I only get her back for an instant before she's taken away from me. Why can't my children have her?"

"Baby, I'm so sorry." James said placing another kiss to her hair.

She let out another sob as she turned in his arms and buried her face in his chest. "I loved her so much James." He held her as she cried doing his best to try and bring comfort. When he felt her knees buckle he picked her up and made his way over to a bench by the wall. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap as she cried into his shoulder. At that moment he would do anything to ease her pain.

He held her tight and rubbed her back doing his very best bring as much comfort as he could. When her sobs began to quiet she laid against him exhausted. She had her arms wrapped tight as if she were afraid if she let him go he would vanish.

"I'm sorry I disappeared earlier." She said against his neck. "I had to leave or I would have killed her."

James turned and placed another kiss to the side of her head. "It's ok, but I was worried about you." He ran his hand soothingly through her hair as he spoke. "Next time you decide to disappear take me with you so I don't worry so much. Ok?" He gave her a small smile. When she looked up at him.

"I love you so much James." She brought a hand up to his cheek.

"I love you too." He said continuing to run his hand through her hair as she looked at him.

"Will you take me home?" She asked.

"Of course." he said as she stood up.

She walked back over to the coffin and conjured a red rose that she placed over the top before turning back to him. He reached out his hand to her which she took as they walked up the stairs.

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James laid in bed holding Regina tight against him. When he'd gotten her home he'd talked her into laying down and getting a little rest. Once they were in bed she had cried again until she finally drifted off to sleep. It had been a couple hours now and James was unwilling to move because he didn't want to disturb her and more then that, he didn't want her to wake up alone.

When his phone vibrated he pulled it from his pocket and looked at the screen, seeing it was Emma.

"Hello?" he answered.

"James?" He heard her voice on the other end. "How's Regina?"

"She's been better." he answered honestly. "But she's doing ok. She's wore herself out grieving and is finally resting a little."

"Henry really wants to see her." Emma said. "I told him that maybe it would be best for him to wait until tomorrow, but he's pretty upset about…everything." She let out a sigh. "I think he just wants to see for himself that she's ok."

James looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms. "I know that Henry always brings comfort to her. Maybe he can come home in a little while. After she wakes up. I want her to get her rest while she can."

"Ok, I'll tell him." Emma said. "If you want I can come back and get him after a few hours. I mean if you feel like Regina needs some time or something. I was thinking if I keep him I could get a room here at Granny's. He doesn't really want to see Snow right now."

"No that's ok. Henry won't be any trouble and if anything he will help comfort Regina. Why don't you give it another couple of hours and drop him off." James let out a sigh. "You probably should go and check on your mom."

He was met with silence for a moment before she finally answered. "Yeah I guess you're right."

He smiled a little into the phone. "I'm always right."

Emma chuckled on the other side. "Father knows best." She mocked.

"Don't forget it." he told her.

"I won't." She said trying to keep a trace of humor in her voice. "Ok, I will drop off Henry in a couple of hours."

"Ok, see you then."

When he hung up the phone Regina shifted a bit. "Is Henry coming home?"

He let out a breath "How long have you been awake?"

"Since you answered your phone." She began drawing circles on his chest with her fingers.

"Yes." he answered her previous question. "Emma's gonna bring him home in a couple hours."

She nodded her head against his chest. "I want to see him…I need to hold him in my arms.

James smiled a little. "I'm sure he will be happy to oblige you."

She lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest so she could look at him. "How long was I asleep?"

"A couple hours" He answered lifting his hand to run it along her face.

"Thank you for holding me." She lifted her hand to run it through his hair. "You keep the nightmares away."

He gave her a gentle smile. "I will hold you anytime you need me to."

She sighed. "I know."

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James walked to answer the door after hearing the knock. When he opened it he found his arms full of an eleven year old boy. He hugged him back as he ruffled his hair. "Hey kid."

"Hey." Henry looked up at him. "Is my mom ok?"

"She's sad, but she wants to see you. Why don't you go on in the living room and say hi to her. I'm gonna stay here and talk to Emma for a minute."

Henry nodded and headed to the living room where he found his mom seated in a chair by the fireplace. She glanced up when she heard him walk in.

"Hey mom." he said as he approached her.

"Hi sweetheart." she opened her arms when he got to the chair and he climbed into her lap.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to your mom." he told her as he looked at her.

"Thank you Henry." She answered.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked.

Regina smiled at him. Her little boy was the sweetest in the world. "You can sit here with me and let me hold you for a while."

He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek bringing tears to her eyes again before cuddling himself up against her chest. Regina pulled her arms tight around him as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I love you mom." he sighed out.

"I love you my sweet boy."

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The next few days passed in a blur. Regina went from being sad to angry and back to sad again. It had mostly been sadness she felt until Snow White had showed up on her doorstep today. The unbelievable nerve of that girl. To show up here asking Regina to kill her. As if she were the one suffering, as if she were the one wronged. It never ceased to amaze her how Snow White always saw herself as the victim.

In a moment of pure fury Regina had plunged her hand into the woman's chest and ripped her heart out. What she had found had truly surprised her.

Darkness.

The pure and perfect Snow White had darkened her own heart. That was perhaps the best punishment of all for her and Regina was pleased that she didn't have to do anything. She had done it to herself. Now Snow White knew what it felt like to have the kind of rage inside of you that comes with darkness. The emptiness you feel. Now Snow White would walk a few miles in her shoes.

Regina still felt that rage now. For a moment she had become the Evil Queen again. She had wanted Snow White dead when she plunged her hand into her chest, but she'd replaced the girls heart. She hadn't allowed herself to kill her.

She was sitting in the living room sipping on a cup of tea when James came in the house.

"Hey." He walked to her and leaned down pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

"Hi." She answered. "Did you stick around the school until you saw Henry go in?"

"Yep." He gave her a small grin. "Trust me, I've learned my lesson with that kid."

"Snow came by." She said somewhat out of the blue. Before he could respond she continued. "I took her heart."

"You…Shit Regina." He glanced around almost expecting to find Snow's dead body in the house somewhere.

"I put it back." She stated calmly taking another sip of her cider.

James let out a breath and asked the only thing he could think of. "Why?"

"Because of you and Henry. I knew if I killed her you would never forgive me. Plus I think she's being punished as it is." She said.

"You mean her guilt?" He asked.

"That and the fact that she has turned her own heart dark."

"What do you mean?"

"When you allow darkness to enter you, it will create a blackness on your heart. Once you let it in, it only spreads." Without warning she plunged her own hand into her chest.

"SHIT REGINA! WHAT THE HELL?!"

She pulled her heart out. "I'm showing you" she said as she held up her heart. It was littered with black spots. "Hmm." She said as she studied it. "There isn't as much black as I thought there would be." She turned her heart over in her hand.

James reached out and took the organ from her holding it gently. "Maybe love is healing it."

Regina continued to look at her heart in James' hand. "I've never heard of a heart being healed from darkness."

James leaned forward and placed a kiss to her lips. "Well, there's a first time for everything." He held the heart out to her. "Now will you please put this back?"

She smiled a little at him and took his hand still holding the heart into hers. She guided his hand to her chest and pushed his arm through. It was by far the strangest thing he had ever felt.

He leaned back in and kissed her still holding on to her heart. "I will cherish this heart Regina for as long as I live. Together, we will heal it." He said before letting go and pulling his hand from her chest.

"I hope you're right." She said sadly.

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**Sorry this chapter was a little shorter but I wanted to end it here until after the hiatus. **

**If you're wondering why I haven't said anything about Greg or Tamara it's because I want to have a little better understanding of where the show is going before I write them.**

**Please Review and let me know how you are liking it and if there is anything particular you would like to see in this story! Thank you to all you wonderful people who read, follow and review. It's good to know that that people are enjoying!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N Finally inspiration has struck and I now have a plan. I hope you all enjoy this long awaited chapter!**

**I'm so sorry for the delay in updating. I was really stumped for a while on where I wanted to take it. I attempted to make up for the wait thought with a little EC smut! Hope you enjoy!**

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The fog of sadness Regina had felt on her since her mother's death had been almost suffocating. She felt as if she hadn't been herself in weeks. There were good days. On those days she felt as if she could finally go on, but then she would be struck with the memory of her mother's smile. The smile she had seen seconds before the woman had died in her arms. That smile haunted Regina. In it she had seen all she'd ever wanted from her mother. The love, the acceptance of who she was had all been there as her mother looked at her with pride. She'd looked at her with the same pride that Regina knew shone on her own face as she looked at Henry. Her mother had been proud of her, for a moment her mother had been proud of the woman she had turned out to be.

Then in an instant it had all been taken away.

James and Henry were there for her through all of it. Henry still hadn't seen Snow White. He was still so angry at her for what she'd done. His relationship with Emma had improved. Apparently the day that her mother had been killed Emma sat Henry down and apologized and asked him to please forgive her. She'd promised she wouldn't lie to him again and they had made up with each other.

Regina was actually glad for this. Now that she realized Henry wasn't going to be taken from her she only wanted his happiness and she knew that he hadn't been happy while he was fighting with Emma. The truth of the matter was that Regina actually found herself liking the blonde she once found so annoying. Since she no longer saw her as a threat she was now able to allow herself to see Emma for who she was and that was a strong woman who had fought her way through the tough things that had come her way in life. A woman who much like herself had dealt with her past mistakes and was now ready to focus on the future. Truthfully she and Emma had much more in common then either one liked to admit.

Regina sighed as she took her seat behind her desk. She'd been asked a week ago by James and Emma to return to her post as mayor. Regina couldn't decide if they'd asked her because they truly needed her help or if they were just trying to distract her from her grief over her mother and her anger at Snow White. She thought maybe it was a combination of the two.

She hadn't killed Snow as she'd wanted to, but that didn't mean that she didn't take every opportunity to remind the precious and pure girl that she was no longer as "snow white" as she once was. James had been present for one of her well aimed digs at his former wife and had given her look. Regina simply shrugged and reminded him that the pixie haired brunette was still alive. He couldn't expect her to be perfect.

Whatever the reason she'd been offered her old job back she had to admit she was grateful. It was nice to feel useful again. James and Emma had made a mess of the paperwork they'd taken on in her absence and she'd spent her whole first week back in the office trying to make sense out of the mess they left for her.

Today she had something else to focus her energy on though. She pulled the keychain from her pocket. She'd just confirmed her suspicions of who this "Greg Mendel" character really was. "Owen." She breathed out. Another part of her past that she wished she could forget. She still felt a pang of guilt for what she had done to him as a child. Of course it paled in comparison to all she'd done in the Enchanted Forest. Maybe it was because it had happened in this world but she felt so much closer to this particular crime.

He'd come looking for his father. Regina found herself truly wishing she could give him to him. Unfortunately it was impossible. She'd lied when she told Greg his father had left town. The man was still in town he was just no longer…living.

After Owen ran away, Regina found herself not knowing what to do with the man she'd taken prisoner. Of course she had considered killing him. She could hardly let word of the town get out into the rest of this world, but she found herself unable to follow through with murder in this land. It wasn't quite the same as crushing a heart had been. To kill someone in this land you had to get up close and personal and Regina hadn't been able to do it. So she'd put him in the mental ward in the hospital next to where she'd kept Belle locked up all that time.

He'd died of an aneurysm about ten years later. Regina had considered telling Owen the truth but had been afraid of what he may do. She was nervous about what his being here meant for Storybrooke.

It was hard for her to remember her past. She knew she'd been forgiven by the people who mattered most to her, but sometimes she had a hard time forgiving herself. She'd done her best to make up for things, but there were some things that just couldn't be undone and this was unfortunately one of them. She would have to tell James what she knew of Greg Mendel which meant she would have to tell him what she had done. She winced inwardly. She knew he loved her and had forgiven her for being the Evil Queen, but he still had no idea of some of the awful things she had done. She sighed as she shook her head and stood. She might as well get it over with.

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She found him where the magic beans were being grown. She walked through the cloaking spell that she had helped create and saw the dwarves all there working on the plants. She glanced around in search of him and found him talking with Anton. He smiled when he looked up and saw her and waved. She smiled back and began to walk their way. Anton looked up as she neared them.

"Hey Regina." He said cheerfully. The man really was uncharacteristically friendly for a giant.

Regina offered him a genuine smile. Most of the towns people no longer called her by her title of "Mayor Mills" but now simply called her Regina. She couldn't say how much this pleased her. "Good morning Anton."

James moved to her side and took her chin in his hand and leaned in to offer a kiss. "Do I not get a hello?" He wanted to know.

She grinned at him after he pulled back also pleased by the affection he so freely offered her in public. "Anton greeted me first." She teased.

James smiled back at her and automatically laid a hand on her still flat belly that Regina was insisting had begun to round. "So what brings your beautiful face into the bean fields today?" He wanted to know.

Regina frowned a little being reminded of the reason she had come to find him. Thinking of Greg Mendel and whatever his plans may be for their town had Regina glancing around the field. "Do you really think it is a good idea having all of the beans here in one place? What if something were to happen to the field?"

James and Anton both furrowed their brows as they glanced around. " I hadn't really thought about it" James answered, "but now that you mention it…It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to keep some in reserve somewhere else just in case."

Regina nodded. "We could set something up in my office. I could place a cloaking spell there as well."

Anton nodded, "Let me go and get you a vine." He said walking off.

James turned back to Regina. "So is that what brought you out here?" He asked.

Regina shook her head. "No…I…" She sighed. "I need to talk to you about something else" She glanced around. "Do you have a few minutes?"

He looked her over with concern. "I always have time for you." He smiled lightly at her. "Is everything ok?"

She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. She didn't want to tell him of the things she had done her first week in Storybrooke. "It will be fine…I figured out why Greg Mendel is here and what it is he wants." She told him. "Would you mind if we went home to talk about it?" She forced a smile. "I'll make you lunch."

He smiled back at her and leaned in to place a kiss to her lips. "How can I refuse that offer?"

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After dropping the bean plant at her office she and James had returned home. Regina busied herself preparing him lunch as she told him the story of her first week in town. She hadn't looked at him through her story. She'd been afraid to see the disappointment on his face. She'd worried that he would change his mind and think that she wasn't worth saving after all. She was terrified that he would walk away from her after finding out another one of the truly horrible things she had done. When her story was finished and he'd finished his food they moved into her study where they sat on the couch. She waited…she waited for the anger to come, the disgust at who she'd once been. She waited for him to turn around and leave her as everyone else in her life had always done.

"So Greg is actually Owen who came here to find his father, who is actually dead." James asked looking up at her.

Regina swallowed and nodded.

"But you didn't tell him that?" James asked.

"No." she answered. "I told him his father left town."

James nodded. "Ok, well we will have to figure out what to do about him. I mean he is most likely going to find out the truth at some point."

Regina just continued to stare at him. "You're not angry with me?" She asked quietly. "For what I did to him?"

He glanced up at her and saw the fear in her eyes. It was the same look he had seen when they had first begun their relationship. It was the look that said she was waiting for him to walk out on her. The look that told him she was waiting for him to do what everyone else in her life had always done and give up on her.

It was true. What she had done to the young boy had been awful, but James also found it incredibly sad. Not just for the boy and his father but also for Regina. This woman had been so lonely and desperate for love that she had tried to take this child. In her mind it had seemed the right thing to do. The boy was miserable at home and wanted to stay here but his father hadn't been willing to do that. Regina's answer had been to get rid of the problem. He really wasn't surprised that this had been her reaction. One of Regina's main weaknesses was that she had a tendency to act out in the most extreme measures possible when she felt threatened in some way. The other weakness she'd had up until recently was her inability to understand how love worked. For the longest time she hadn't been able to understand that just because someone loved her didn't mean they couldn't love someone else as well. This had seemed to be the case with Owen. Yes the boy had affection for Regina, but that didn't mean that he would be willing to give up his father to be with her. The woman Regina had been had been unable to understand that. It had taken Henry and a lot of hard learned lessons for Regina to learn that she didn't have to be the only person in his life. Henry had taught her to love again….to really love and to be concerned for the other person's happiness no matter what that meant for her.

Now the woman that James looked at was a completely different person. Now she was the woman he had fallen in love with. "No, I'm not angry. A little sad for the way things happened, but not angry." He told her.

She let out a breath leaned into him and buried her face in his neck. "I love you so much James."

He turned his face to place a kiss to her hair. "I love you too. We will figure this out together Regina." He told her.

She nodded her head against his neck before pulling back to look into his eyes. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss to his lips. She ran her hands through his hair as she kissed him again this time lightly running her tongue over his bottom lip begging for entry which he granted. She deepened the kiss feeling a sudden hunger that took her by surprise. She pulled back from him and shifted herself so that she now straddled his lap then leaned into place hungry kisses along his neck. She returned her lips to his mouth as she brought her hands up and began unbuttoning the flannel shirt he was wearing, needing to feel his skin under her hands.

He allowed her to pull the shirt from his shoulders and then moaned into her mouth when he felt her hands slip under his t-shirt to move over his chest. She quickly pushed his t-shirt up and over his head before bending back down to trail the hot kisses over his shoulders. She couldn't get enough of him. She heard him suck in breath when her fingers traced the edge of his jeans. She grinned as she dipped them into the hem running her fingers along the smooth skin there.

He had been taken by surprise by her sudden hunger towards him. Now he struggled to keep up. He leaned forward to place kisses along her neck and began unbuttoning the blue shirt she wore. She allowed him to push it off her shoulders as she went back to feasting on his skin. He gasped and lost all train of thought as her hand slipped into his pants and slowly ran along his length before taking him firmly in her hand. He groaned as he leaned his head back on the couch enjoying her attention.

She leaned in and placed another deep kiss to his mouth before she finally stood and began to rid herself of her black dress pants. He looked up at her and enjoyed the view as she stepped from her pants. There were subtle changes to her body from the pregnancy, the most notable one was that her breasts had grown a bit fuller. Her skin seemed to glow and James couldn't take his eyes off of her as she bent in only her bra and underwear and wrapped her fingers around the top of his jeans. He lifted his hips as she raised an eyebrow at him so she could tug them and his boxers down and off. She continued to kneel in front of him after pulling his jeans off his legs and let out an appreciative hum as she looked over his body. They way she looked at him reminded him somewhat of a lioness before she devoured her pray. His heart beat quickened as he looked into her eyes. She began to run her hands along his legs and slowly over his hips. She flattened her hands on his stomach as she continued to run them up his chest following behind her hands with kisses. She once again brought her mouth to his and gave him a deep kiss before leaning in to whisper in his hear. "I'm fairly certain that you are the sexiest man alive." Her voice was husky with lust and she pulled his earlobe into her mouth before once again standing up strait and ridding herself of her panties.

She climbed back onto his lap once again taking his length into her hand and stroking him. James moaned again and reached behind her to unhook the clasps on her bra. When her full breasts were finally exposed to him he leaned in a took a pert pink nipple into his mouth causing her to throw her head back and moan. She shifted once again and grinned when he groaned as she lowered herself onto him. She let out her own moan at the sensation of him filling her before she began to move.

She moved at a steady pace as James continued to enjoy running his hands and mouth over her body. She quickened her pace some when she felt him begin to tense, knowing he was close. Her own body began to tremble as she also approached her climax. She cried out when the orgasm exploded in her even as he groaned out her name spilling himself into her.

She collapsed against him in exhaustion attempting to catch her breath. They were still joined and James had pulled his arms tight around her. He was struggling to catch his breath. When his heart rate finally started to slow he turned his face into her hair and chuckled. "Do you mind if I ask what got into you just now?" He grinned. "Not that I'm complaining."

Regina smiled and lifted her head with a satisfied smirk. "I'm not really sure. All I know is that all of a sudden I couldn't get enough of you." She trailed her fingers along his shoulders. "Hormones maybe?"

James grinned "If this is what pregnancy hormones do to you I think I am going to enjoy your pregnancy very much."

"Mmmm me too." She said as she continued to trail her hands along his shoulders and lowered her mouth down to his for another deep kiss. When she pulled back he saw that her eyes were still darkened with lust.

His eyes went wide as she began running her hands over his body all over again. "Again?" He chuckled as she once again lowered her mouth to trail kisses over his neck. "Are you trying to kill me?" He wanted to know.

She hummed in the back of her throat as her hands trailed along his body greedily. "I'm simply enjoying myself dear." She leaned in to his ear and whispered. "And I am a long way from being finished with you."

James leaned his head back and once again enjoyed the sensations that she was sending through his body.

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**A/N I hope you all enjoyed the long awaited chapter. I have a pretty clear idea where I am going to take this story now and I have brought ACFC to a close (I finished the epilogue to that one last night and will probably post it tomorrow or Friday) so I should be able to update more frequently. Love you all and again sorry for the wait. Hopefully a little EC sexiness makes up for it!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N I am so sorry for the long wait. I decided to work at a camp for teens with autism this summer and it turns out that I was busier then I am during the school year. Thank you all so much for your patience and sticking with this story.**

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Regina sighed as she snuggled closer against James's sleeping form. Henry had stayed with Emma the night before and she and James had spent most of the evening in bed, making love and talking late into the night. They talked about everything from the colors of the baby's nursery to the future of Storybrooke and whether or not they would go back to the enchanted forest. James wanted to go back and try to create a home there, but Regina was against it. She really couldn't imagine her life any where but here. Storybrooke may have been born from a curse but it had become her home and the only one she wanted to live in. She couldn't imagine raising their children anywhere else.

They'd agreed on a possible compromise of spending time in both places. James would never force Regina to go back if she didn't want too, but on the same note she didn't want to keep him trapped here if he wanted to be there. It was sticky ground but Regina had faith that they would figure it out together.

That was new she thought to herself as she thought of the last few months she'd spent with him. She'd never thought in a million years she would fall in love again, or that someone could love her back. She certainly didn't think that someone would love her enough to be willing to sacrifice their own dreams for hers.

But James did love her. She'd woken him with true loves kiss and now everything in her life had changed. She had the love and trust of her child and now she had the love of this wonderful man that she was currently cuddled up too and she was having his baby. Finally she had the family that she'd always dreamed of.

And that family was now in danger because of what she'd done to Owen and his father.

Owen knew about Storybrooke and magic and he knew that Regina was not telling the truth about his father. She'd recognized the anger that she saw looking back at her from his eyes the day she confronted him. It was the same anger she'd seen so many times when looking in the mirror. She wished she could tell him that revenge would get him no where and he would only be left feeling empty inside, but she knew he wouldn't hear that from her. He was determined to bring her down and she could see in his eyes that he wouldn't care who he brought down with her.

Storybrooke was in danger…Her family was in danger.

Buried deep under the town was a weapon that could destroy them all and she had to get to it before Greg did. She told herself through her sleepless night that she was being ridiculous, there was no way that Greg could possibly know about the trigger, but she couldn't take the chance. If there was even the slightest possibility that Greg could get his hands on that diamond she had to stop him, she had protect her family.

"Keep it down will you?" James's gravelly voice said as she felt his lips press against her hair.

"I wasn't talking." She answered looking up at him.

"No, but your mind is running a mile a minute. Your thoughts are so loud they woke me up." He grinned at her. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

She let out a small huff. How was it that he knew her so well? "Just Storybrooke…and keeping my family safe from Owen or Greg or whatever the hell his name is."

He brought his free hand up and pushed her hair behind her ear. "I told you we will figure out what to do about him together. You have to stop worrying so much."

She was tempted to tell him about the trigger, she was tempted to spill all of her fears, but she knew he would want to go after it and she knew he wouldn't let her help and in being her hero he would most likely wind up getting himself killed. No. She couldn't tell him about the trigger.

She smiled and leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. "I can't help it. I just want to know that my family is safe."

"I will keep our family safe Regina." He placed a hand on her chin so that she would look at him. "I promise."

Guilt clawed at her mind as she looked into his kind and gentle blue eyes. It was amazing how hard it was for her to keep a secret from him. "I know you will."

He placed a quick kiss to her nose. "Good." He gently rolled her onto her back. "Now I would like to say good morning to our baby if that's ok with you."

She smiled at him as he pulled the blankets off her body and placed a hand on her stomach. Just when she thought she couldn't love him anymore he did something like talk to their baby and her heart filled to the point of bursting.

James looked over Regina's body after pulling the cover off of her and felt his heart simply flood with love for her. Although her stomach was still flat her body had some subtle changes. Her breasts had grown fuller and her skin seemed to have a glow that it didn't have before. He was excited for the day that her stomach would begin to grow and he would be able to see the life they created move inside her. He leaned in a placed a kiss to her stomach.

"Good morning baby" He grinned as he continued to hold his hand on her belly. "It's your daddy. I just wanted to remind you that your mom and I are so excited to meet you." He stroked her stomach gently. "And I want to let you know that you are already loved…so much." He glanced up to look at Regina who had tears pooling in her eyes at his words. He leaned back into her stomach. "Wait till you meet your mom…she's the most beautiful woman in the whole world." He kissed her stomach again. "I know you'll think so too."

He laid his head on her stomach and Regina brought a hand down to stroke his head. "I love you so much James."

He glanced up at her and grinned. "I love you too."

She smiled as she brought her hand to his cheek. "Will you make love to me again?"

He grinned as he moved up her body to kiss her. "Do you really have to ask?"

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It had been a terrible idea…trusting Hook. Why hadn't she just told James? Why hadn't she let him help her instead of trusting the pirate who would sell his own mother if it got him his revenge?

Now she had no idea where she was or where they were taking her. They'd put a bag over her head and they were taking her somewhere. They had the diamond…she could only hope they had no idea what it was used for.

Tamara had been in on the whole thing with Greg. The bitch had planned all this out. She'd spent time with her son!

Henry. She thought frantically. If they figure out what the trigger did everyone in Storybrooke would die, except Henry. Normally she would take solace in knowing her son would not be harmed…but he would be alone. He would have no one. Oh God…She felt panic rise up inside her and tried hard to fight the bile that rose in her throat at the thought of her little boy being alone.

No. She couldn't let this happen. She had to stop them.

They'd put something on her wrist to prevent her from using magic. She had to think. There had to be something she could do. There had to be a way of escape. She concentrated on her magic to try to remove the cuff from her hand and hissed when pain exploded in her head.

"Yeah, you may not want to try that again." She heard Greg's voice tell her as they continued to drive. "That cuff turns your own magic inward. I understand it's quite painful."

Regina didn't bother to answer him. She heard the car come to a stop and was then pulled from the car. She fought against the hands that where holding her until she felt cold metal being pressed into her back. "Keep walking." She heard Tamara's voice say from behind her.

She cooperated until she felt her self being pushed onto the cold table. She began to fight again in earnest but was restrained by strong hands as she felt straps being put around her hands and feet. He heart was pounding now. She knew that their plans for her were not going to be pleasant. The only thing she could think of as the last strap was placed around her ankle was the baby that was currently growing inside her. Her baby. Oh God what had she done?

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James came into the house expecting to smell Regina's glorious cooking, but was instead met by silence.

"Regina?" He called out as he walked towards the kitchen. She'd told him that she was going to fix something special tonight for dinner so he was surprised when he didn't find her in the kitchen. There'd been a minor traffic accident in town so he was running late. He'd tried to call but she hadn't answered. He glanced up as he heard feet come down the stairs.

He looked up to find Henry coming down from his room.

"Where's your mom?" He wanted to know.

Henry lifted an eyebrow. "I figured she was with you." He told him. "I thought maybe she forgot that I was coming here after school today instead of going with Emma. I tried to call her when I got home but there was no answer."

James felt his stomach drop. He didn't know why he felt the sudden panic. It was probably nothing. He tried a smile so he wouldn't alarm Henry with his sudden worry. "She probably ran to the store or something." he said even as he pulled out his phone to try her again.

Henry started to feel uneasy and shook his head. "Anytime she isn't going to be home when I get off the bus she leaves a note." He looked up at James with worried eyes. "She _always_ leaves a note."

He tried to remain calm telling himself that she'd probably just ran out somewhere and didn't realize how long she would be gone but even as he thought it he knew that Regina would never leave without letting Henry know where she would be. Especially if he were going to be home alone. Come to think of it she wouldn't let him stay home alone. Not while Greg was in town making threats. No something was wrong.

Their conversation from that morning played back in his head. She'd been worried about her family. It would be just like her to go off thinking she was protecting everyone and putting herself in danger. He jumped when his phone went off in his hand and brought it to his face without even looking at the ID.

"Regina?" He said almost frantically.

"No, it's Emma." He heard from the other end. "Someone burned the bean fields."

James's heart beat faster. Greg did it…he knew it…he also knew that he had the woman he loved. "Regina's missing." He told Emma.

Emma was silent for a moment. Tamara had something to do with all of this. She knew it. "Are you sure she's missing. Maybe she's just…"

"She's missing Emma. She was supposed to be here when Henry got off the bus. She wasn't and she didn't leave a note, she's not answering her phone and she was talking this morning about protecting her family from Greg Mendel" He told her frantically.

"Greg? What does he have to do with anything?" Emma wanted to know.

"I'll explain later." He told her. "Right now we need to find Regina."

"Where is the last place you know she was?" Emma asked.

"Her office."

"Ok, I'm on my way there. Meet me." She said.

"Call Mary Margaret so we have someone to take Henry. I'm not going to leave him alone." He said.

"Ok I'll see you at her office in five." Emma said before hanging up the phone.

"Is my mom gonna be ok?" Henry looked up at James with wide eyes that looked to be verging on tears.

James laid a hand on the boys shoulder. "Yes, I'm gonna find her Henry. I promise."

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James, Emma and Mary Margaret made their way into the pawn shop each determined to find answers. James wanted Mary Margaret to take Henry, but the woman had insisted she help find Regina. She still had so much guilt over what happened with Cora and she desperately wanted to try to fix things. She wouldn't let Regina die.

Emma was just as determined, but for other reasons. For one thing because Regina's was Henry's mom…his true mom that had raised him from birth and she was not going to let anyone take her from him, but also because somehow over the past several months she and Regina had become friends. She found they actually had a lot in common and she kind of liked having her around.

James simply had to find her because she is his heart. There would be no life without her.

Gold simply raised a brow to see all of them in there at once. "Well to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Regina's missing." James told him.

"Well." He drawled out. "I wasn't expecting good news today."

"Gold." Emma said and placed a hand on her father's shoulder as he visibly tensed. "We need you to help us find her."

"Now why would I want to do that?" The man asked looking at the three of them.

"Because you owe me a favor, and more then that you owe Regina." James answered.

Gold simply stared at him for a moment before answering. "To find Regina you're going to need magic."

"That's why we're here." James answered him.

Gold shook his head. "Not my magic. You need someone who shares a powerful connection with Regina." He looked to Emma.

Her eyes widened. "Me?" She shook her head and pointed at her mother and father. "They have a more powerful connection then I do."

"They don't have magic." Gold answered. "And you share a son…a son that you would both die for. That's a powerful connection Sherriff."

Emma swallowed after being reminded of Henry and the devastation he would feel if anything happened to his mother. "What do I have to do?"

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**I hope this didn't feel to rushed, but I really didn't want to rewrite all of the parts you already saw in the show like Hook and Regina in the mines ect.**

**Hope you all enjoyed! Please review to let me know how you liked it!**


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